Time Heals All
by RevenantReaper337
Summary: She was a shell of a teenage girl mourning the loss of her brother. He was a lonely smart mouthed rocket mechanic living in isolation. A quirk of fate brought them together, and now they may be the only thing standing between a callous despot and the destruction of the Solana galaxy. Join them as they learn to live, laugh, and perhaps even find love. OC insert. Covers R&C 1
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

**Author****'****s note:**

**Back once again with another story. Sorry about the lack of update for Trouble Shooter, but I felt the need to finally get this thing published before I re-edit it once more. This is the second of three variants of a Ratchet and Clank story I****'****ve been writing on and off as mentioned in the author's note on Trouble Shooter, and is more or less a straight character insert in to R&C 1 with the intention of carrying on through the series. Though some elements and character's are similar to afore mentioned story, they are completely unrelated in terms of plot and the only thing the main characters of both share is their name and personality.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check my other stories once they are posted. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank evil Ratchet96 for the review and encouragement. Rest assured, a new chapter of Trouble Shooter is in the works.**

**Thank you all, and please enjoy. **

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

**Arrival**

**Scottish Highlands, Earth**

**Milky Way Galaxy**

**August 16th 2012**

**10:34pm GMT**

The dew encrusted grass glistened in the pale moonlight as Ellen sat on the hillside, softly breathing in the still night air. In the eyes of her fellow students, Ellen was a fairly good looking girl, not that she particularly cared. Standing around 5'7", Ellen had a lithe, toned body with an athletic build, a result of her constant hiking and cross country jaunts. Creamy coloured, lightly flushed skin, taut musculature, and flowing curves neatly accented her figure. Her heart shaped face was framed by a shoulder length mane of dark red hair which curved inwards towards the tips which only served to enhance her facial features. She had a small mouth with thin pink lips, a small nose with a dusting of freckles which petered out over her cheeks, and a pair of entrancing pale blue eyes.

Her attire consisted of a mid thigh length tartan kilt, secured with a silver buckled black belt. A black graphic T-shirt encompassed her figure, neither figure hugging nor too baggy. A pair of worn brown hiking boots encased her feet as well as white mid calf length socks. On her right wrist was a Timex analogue watch with a brown leather strap, and on her left a multi coloured braided bracelet; a gift from Natalie, her best friend from secondary school, and who now lived at the opposite end of the British Isles.

Ellen wasn't exactly your typical teenager. Numerous boys tried to hit on her, and several girls had taken exception to her attracting the attention of 'their men'. Ellen simply brushed them aside, ignoring them as much as possible. She had little to no interest in juvenile boys who looked down on her interests as 'nerdy' and 'boring'. Ellen loved to look at the stars; the constellations, the vast magnitude of space fascinated her. She had devoured volumes of books, spent hours on the internet, and camped out under the stars as often as possible in her pursuit of knowledge. Not that she didn't have other pursuits. Thanks to her extended family, she had a broad range of skills; Basic engineering, computer hacking, mixed martial arts, and cross country hiking to name a few. But all that had ground to a halt.

Drawing her knees up to her chest, Ellen reached down to the dog tags that hung around her neck, fingers gently caressing the imprinted metal beneath her touch.

"Simon...why?"

Her words wistful, tinged with a faint Scottish accent, the pain of loss evident in every syllable. She gripped the dogtags in a balled fist and stared off into the night sky. It had been three days since the family had received the news.

Simon Bryn Pearce; Royal Marine, loving son, and doting brother. Killed in action.

She had taken it so hard. Locking herself in her room, crying into her pillow and avoiding all contact. For two days straight she didn't leave, not even to eat. On the night of the third day, she decided to get some air, and so began the trek to her favourite part of the glen; a small hillock overlooking a loch. On a clear night like this, the moon and the stars shone down on the water, creating the illusion of an infinite field of light. It was so beautiful.

Ellen let her mind wander to the fond memories she had of her sibling. The day he took her mountaineering up Ben Nevis' southern face. The precious days he spent with the family on what little leave he had. The cocky, confident tone he used when he sought to comfort her when she had been bullied at school. His surprise visit on her 17th birthday. Now it was all she had left.

Sighing, she looked to the heavens with trepidation. "God, if you're really up there, show me a sign. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to move on?" A flash of movement caught her eye, a faint smile touching her lips. A shooting star. Simon had told her when she was younger that a wish upon a star would always come true if the person who wished was in great need. No one could replace Simon, but there had to be someone out there who could love her, understand her; make her feel whole again.

Ellen closed her eyes and recited her wish to the heavens. Almost as soon as the words had escaped her mouth, a dull rumbling reverberated through the air. Opening her eyes, she blinked rapidly before her brow contorted in confusion. The shooting star had changed course and suddenly seemed to be getting a whole lot bigger. Rooted to the spot, her eyes widened with panic as she realised the falling objects trajectory. It was coming straight at her.

"Oh shit!"

Ellen scrambled to her feet, her tan coloured satchel with matching shoulder strap thumping against her waist as she took off in a flat sprint. Chancing a look over her shoulder, she saw that it was practically on top of her. Legs burning with the strain, Ellen didn't notice the peculiar tendrils of energy snaking forth from the meteorite as it burned in the atmosphere. Just before it could impact the earth, the mysterious energy surged forth, enveloping her form. Ellen convulsed in shock as the energy lanced through her body, an excruciating pain tore at her heart, and then nothing.

Nothing but darkness.

When she didn't return that night, Ellen's worried parents called the police. An extensive search turned up next to nothing aside from her boot prints leading to the smouldering impact crater left by the meteorite. It was as if she had been vaporised or vanished in to thin air. When a detective came to bring the bad news, Ellen's father sought to comfort his distraught wife. "Don't worry, my love. Wherever she is, she's safe now. With Simon watching over her"

The poor woman broke down in tears, and he didn't feel far behind. First Simon, and now Ellen.

Their baby was gone.

**Kyzil Plateau, Veldin**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.738 Galactic calendar**

**11:13am local time**

Ratchet stretched lazily with a grunting sigh, leaving the cool confines of the garage that doubled as his home and into the harsh sunlight outside. Just another day on a backwater planet called Veldin, the galaxy's equivalent of the middle of nowhere. _'But not for much longer'_. A slight smile crept across the lombax's face, as he resumed the task he'd spent the entire morning working on. He'd really lucked out this time. Months of preparation, hard work, and saving every bolt he could from his job as a rocket mechanic had finally yielded what he'd always dreamed of. His very own space ship, his ticket to finally getting off this rock. Granted, it wasn't exactly top of the line, in fact it belonged on a scrap heap. But it was his.

Hopping up on to a crate he had dragged into place to make up for his relatively short stature, Ratchet proceeded to use his wrench to adjust the guidance system inside the currently exposed panel on the front of the ship. After tweaking it just right, he stood back to admire his handy work in silence before pressing a blue glowing button on his left glove. A calm, feminine, monotone voice came forth from unseen speakers in the device "Final step - attach Robotic Ignition System. Thank you for using helpdesk technology". _'Damn it. Where am I gonna get one of those?'_ Ratchet sighed in frustration, knowing that he was that much closer, yet still unable to realise his dream of exploring the galaxy.

Now that he had nothing to do, he began to reflect on his life so far. He didn't exactly have many friends beyond the occasional visitor to his garage to ask him to fix something for them, and that was more acquaintances than true friendship. Thanks to his obsessive work ethic of late, he had little time to form relationships or socialise with others his age. Being on a sparsely populated dust ball of a planet probably didn't help. As for girls, he could just forget it. Ratchet snorted in amusement. One thing Veldin did not possess in abundance was hot and available lombax girls, and the few females he had met of other species didn't think he was dating material.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen any other lombaxes during his short life so far. Maybe they were out there somewhere, on other worlds. There had to be someone who knew. Ratchet closed his eyes in thought as his heart sank. For the first time in years, he felt truly alone. What good was traversing the stars if there was no one to share it with him? He wanted- no, needed companionship more than he had ever known. Ratchet's eyes turned to the azure sky, his mind picturing the stars beyond. Somewhere out there was the adventure he craved. Somewhere out there was someone who could relate to him for who he was, rather than what he was.

All he needed was a sign

A deafening roar caught his attention, eyes widening at the burning ship as it streaked overhead before ploughing into the ground, causing the very earth to shudder under the impact. Gripping his wrench tightly, Ratchet eagerly took off towards the crash site. The distant trail of smoke guided the way as he bounded over the rough terrain and cleaved through both hostile robots and indigenous life. _'Finally, something interesting on this dustbowl'_. After dispatching the last of the robots with his Bomb Glove, Ratchet carefully approached the charred remains of the crashed spaceship. In the middle of the crater lay a body; motionless, dirty, and a little bruised, yet otherwise unmarked. Turning the body over, he realised that it was female, though not of any species he recognised, and she was still alive. Unconscious maybe, but still breathing. _'How is she still alive after a crash like that? I'd better get her somewhere safe'_. Heaving her up in his arms, he stooped to pick up a weird metal thing that looked salvageable before beginning the trek back home. Looking back down at her unconscious form, he couldn't help but smile.

Maybe this was a sign of things to come.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Need improvement? **

**As I previously mentioned, this is the second of three Ratchet & Clank stories I have been writing, and as such I****'****d like to know whether it****'****s worth continuing with or if you prefer one of the other variants. It just helps me decide which one I should concentrate on, though knowing me, I****'****ll probably end up writing for all three anyway.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	2. Chapter 2: A New World

**Author****'****s note:**

**Okay, that I did not expect.**

**Seriously, 60 plus views, 3 reviews, AND a favourite? For just the first chapter?! That's more than both my other stories combined! Honestly, I'm overwhelmed by your responses, so much so that I've been working my ass off to get a new chapter out as fast as possible. This is probably the fastest I've ever written a chapter from scratch, and as such I can only hope it's up to par.**

**Review replies:**

**Pokecats649 - Thank you, I'm glad you like it.**

**Guest - Me too, that's why I thought I'd have a crack at it myself. Hope you like the new chapter.**

**Destiny - Wait no more. I can only hope you enjoy it as much as the last chapter.**

**A special thanks to AustinGamer117 for becoming my first follower, I can't begin to express how happy you've made me.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**With out further ado, let's get this show on the road. **

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

**A New World**

**Kyzil Plateau, Veldin**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**9:37am local time**

Ellen could feel a steady thumping in her skull as she came to with a groan. Pulling herself into a sitting position, the nights events came crashing down on her. By all rights she should be dead, and yet her lungs still took in humid air. _'Humid…' _Wherever she was, it definitely wasn't home. As her bleary vision began to clear, she realised that she was lying on a beat up old sofa in what looked like a garage workshop. Slowly sitting up, Ellen took in what little there was to see; a fridge, a few workbenches with what looks like a high-tech toaster sat on it, a chunky looking radio and a single door set in to the far wall. The front of the workshop was open to the elements, the faint sounds of a drill or angle grinder wafting in on the humid breeze.

She staggered to her feet, shaky legs carrying her out of the workshop and towards the increasing sounds of metal work, hoping to find an answer to what was going on. Ellen raised a hand to block the harsh sunlight streaming into her eyes as she blearily took in the increasingly arid environment.

Everything was so bloody warm!

Sweat trickled down her chin as she focused her gaze on finding a landmark of some kind, anything to let her know just where on earth she was. It looked like a wasteland of spiky plants, craggy rocks, shear cliffs, and sand as far as the eye could see. The hanger, for that is what it resembled, that she had been occupying was surrounded by a tall metallic perimeter fence, while she could see structures made from similar material attached to some of the surrounding cliffs, and what appeared to be water towers scattered around.

_'Water...'_

It hadn't occurred to her just how goddamn thirsty she was. Her dry throat felt like she had screamed herself hoarse, and her lips felt cracked and chapped. _'Just how long have I been here?'_

Suddenly, Ellen realised that the metal work sounds she had been following had stopped. Turning her gaze to the right, her eyes widened at the impossible sight before her. Sitting among a stack of spare parts and discarded machinery hovered what could only be described as a space ship. An honest to God space ship straight out of a science fiction movie, and in front of that stood something that caused her over worked mind to grind to a halt.

_'Is that...a giant... frigging... space cat?!'_

Standing around 5' tall, covered in short golden yellow fur with brown tiger stripes, and wearing nothing but what looked like the bottom half of a sage coloured fighter pilot's jumpsuit, some kind of black buckled harness around the chest, a pair of thick elbow length gloves, and a brown leather flying cap was, indeed, a giant frigging space cat.

And it was staring right at her.

{()}

Ratchet was worried. According to his chronometer, it had been over eight and a half hours since his 'guest' had taken up residence on his couch, and she still hadn't regained consciousness. He was no doctor, and tended to rely upon Nanotech to solve virtually every medical problem that cropped up, meaning that beyond the liberal dose he'd already given her, he was at a loss for what to do. As far as he could tell there was nothing physically wrong with her, so he had left her to rest on his couch while he alternated between working on his ship and periodically checking in on her.

Just as he finished reattaching a loose coupling, his ears pricked up at the sound of boots on the loosely packed sand and scree behind him. Putting down his wrench, he turned around to see his now awakened guest gazing around in bewilderment. Taking a few steps forward, he stopped suddenly as her ice blue eyes focussed on his slightly smaller form.

_'Why is everyone taller than me? Oh well, better make a good first impression'_

"Hey!" He greeted with a wave and a smile. "Guess you're finally up, huh? Y'know, you kinda had me worried for a while back there..."

Ratchet's words trailed off as he realised that her gaze no longer rested on him, but on a spot a little above him and to his left, a darkening scowl replacing the look of confusion as her eyes narrowed at him in anger. Puzzled by the sudden mood shift, Ratchet followed her gaze, his eyes widening slightly in realisation as he connected the dots.

When he had first found the girl, her clothing had been torn in places, covered in dirt, and smelt of burning smoke. After he had done what he could for her injuries, he had decided to do something nice for his guest and clean her clothes while she recovered. He had removed her shirt and kilt, proceeding to clean them both, and aired them outside.

He had left her underwear and boots on; he wasn't _that_ kind of guy, and since he had never encountered laces before, he didn't know how to remove her boots without breaking them. Since he had no clothing in her size, and it was almost 90 degrees outside, he had decided to let her sleep on the couch as is.

In retrospect, he reflected, it _might_ have been a mistake.

Holding up a gloved hand in placation, he slowly inched away from the seething female. "Now, let's all just try to remain calm. There's a perfectly reas-" Ratchet rolled to the side to avoid the lethal combination of raging oestrogen and OmniWrench attempting to cleave through his skull.

"Hey! That's my wrench!"

She didn't seem to care as she continued to swipe at him and spout angry babble in her strange tongue while he ran like his life depended on it. Because it did.

In desperation, he fiddled with the translator app on his wrist com and set it to decipher her ranting into something he could actually understand. It took another four circuits of his ship and some creative dodging before his translator chimed with a positive result. "-ing pervy little bastard! Just wait till I get my hands on you!"

{()}

Ellen was angry - no, _livid_. Seeing her clothing hanging over a crate, realising she was stood outside in her underwear, and that knowing grin on that cat thing's face had been too much. Anger, embarrassment and mortification had culminated in her chasing an alien feline, in her undies, while wielding a wrench like a battle axe, screaming obscenities all the while.

She had no idea how long they had been at it, but just as she began to flag and tire, her potential victim spoke once more, and in English no less!

"Hey, can you understand me now?"

Ellen staggered to a halt, leaning heavily on the wrench as she filled her lungs with warm air. "Uh...yeah. Yeah, I can"

The alien cat, apparently not even the slightest bit out of breath, seemed to grin in relief as he replied. "Great! So...now that you're not trying to kill me, you mind putting down the wrench so we can talk?"

She glared at him, fingers unconsciously tightening their grip on the weapon's shaft. "About what?" She hissed. "You abducting a girl and trying to take advantage of her while she's knocked out, huh?"

His eyes widened and he waved his hands frantically in front of his face as panic set in. "Abduc- what?! No! No! No! You got it all wrong! I'm not that kind of guy! Your ship crashed, you were injured and out cold. You were out for so long that I thought I'd clean your stuff and get some of the smoke out of it" He scratched the back of his head as he looked at her sheepishly "Guess I should have thought it through first, huh?" Ellen's stance relaxed a little, but her brows knitted in confusion and worry.

"Ship? Crash? What are you talking about?"

The furry alien pointed with a gloved hand to a plume of smoke rising from a craggy plateau a few miles distant. "A ship just dropped out of orbit over there and crashed. I found you in the impact crater, bought you back here and treated your wounds. That's it, I swear!"

"And where is 'here' exactly?"

"My place, of course" At her blank expression he pushed on "On Veldin?" Still blank. "In the Solana galaxy? Come on, you must have had some idea when your ship...went... Are you okay?"

Ellen's legs felt like jelly as she slumped to her knees in shock, her mind overwhelmed by the magnitude of what she had just seen and heard. If what the alien had said was true, and she wasn't hallucinating or dead, then that meteorite had some how transported her to another world, maybe even another dimension altogether! A sense of wonder tapered by a fear of the unknown warred for control. Though she was amazed at the prospect of intelligent extraterrestrial life, she had for all intents and purposes disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Panic started to set in as her thoughts turned to her loved ones. Mum and Dad...Gran and Granddad...her friends from school and college. How long had she been gone? Did they even _know_ she was gone? Did they think she was dead?

Before her trail of thought could go any further, a gloved hand on her shoulder brought her focus to a pair of concerned jade eyes.

{()}

Ratchet watched the clearly shaken girl with more than a little concern. The fiery anger her eyes once held had been replaced with a vulnerability that made his stomach clench.

He had seen that look on her face far too often. It was a match for his own more times than he cared to admit; every casual rejection, every failed relationship had made him feel that bit emptier inside. She looked so lost and alone that despite her earlier violent reaction, he felt the need to provide some reassurance, no matter how small.

She didn't even notice as he slowly eased the wrench out of her hand and crouched down to her level. It wasn't until the lombax gently placed a hand on her shoulder that her icy blue eyes snapped to focus on him, already shimmering with unshed tears. "Hey now, no need for that. What's your name?"

Ratchet had to strain his ears to hear her hoarse reply.

"Ellen…"

"Name's Ratchet. Look Ellen, I don't know what you've been through, but I'm here for you if you need me, okay?" She merely nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. With the caution one might use around a wild animal, Ratchet slowly wrapped his unoccupied arm around her and pulled her into an awkward hug. She sniffled into his fur as he made soothing motions on the small of her back, being careful not to stray anywhere inappropriate as one of her own smooth skinned appendages snaked around his mid section.

After several minutes of sniffling on her part and soothing noises on his own, Ellen slowly pushed them apart, her eyes slightly reddened as she gave him a weak smile. "Thanks. You must think I'm a right mess" Ratchet shook his head. "Nah, it's cool. We all have our bad days, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry about the whole...you know..."

Realisation dawned as he gestured to her state of undress. Ellen flushed crimson as she scrambled to her feet, covering herself with her arms some what unsuccessfully. "T-turn around! I'm practically naked!" Ratchet winced at the nigh shriek grating on his sensitive hearing.

"But I've already seen you-"

"Turn. Around. _Now_"

Throwing up his hands in defeat, Ratchet slowly turned and backed away. The fire in her eyes had returned and he wasn't looking forward to repeat performance of what happened earlier. "Okay, I'll just sorta stay over here while you...do your thing" So saying, Ratchet retrieved his wrench and returned to fine tuning his ship, if only to keep his mind occupied.

Though he continued to work, his heart wasn't in it. His thoughts continuing to drift back to the girl. He had to admit that she was gorgeous; the sculpted frame, smooth skin, and the cute button nose all combined in to one attractive package. But it was the eyes that held his attention the most; those soulful pits of blue ice that burned with quiet strength, yet held an air of sadness that he could all too easily relate to. He wanted to get to know the girl behind the eyes, to find out what troubled her so deeply.

_'But I already screwed up once already'_ He sighed deeply. _'There's no way she'd ever go for a guy like me'_

{()}

With a huff, Ellen stalked over to where her clothing lay along with her satchel, quickly dressing as her thoughts smouldered with the same intensity of her scarlet cheeks. She couldn't believe she had fallen apart like that, she was stronger than this! If it hadn't been for that damnable fuzz ball and his warm tone that...that...

_'Christ, he reminds me too much of Simon'_

It had been but a moment of weakness, but the similarities between the two had been enough to momentarily break the dam she had built up around herself to keep her emotions in check. When he had hugged her, it felt so comforting and familiar that she could pretend, for just a little while, that her brother was still here for her. Ellen shook her head to dislodge that thought, but before she could brood any further she was interrupted by a cultured sounding voice from directly behind her.

"Interesting"

She spun on her heel, only to witness Ratchet fall flat on his ass with a startled yelp as her eyes settled on-

…

She blinked twice.

_'...A walking...toaster?'_

What she had mistaken previously in Ratchet's kitchen space as a 'high-tech toaster' was apparently a tiny silver metal robot with glowing green optics and a dinky antennae on his head tipped with a red blinking light. Seemingly blind to the incredulous stare he was getting from her, the robot continued to converse with Ratchet as he ambled forward with a faint whining of servos.

"You are quite handy with your wrench"

Ratchet, having dusted himself off, postured with a grin. "You bet! I built that ship with it" Watching the lombax gesturing to said vessel, the robot seemed to cock its head in thought before coming to a decision. "Hmm... I am currently in search of someone who could be of assistance with saving the solar system. Do you know where I could find that fellow?"

Both organics followed the robot's gesture to a large poster adorning one wall of Ratchet's home. The image portrayed what looked like a ridiculously cartoonish representation of an adult human male; huge chest, over muscled arms, a jaw so solid you could cut diamond on it, and a pair of proportionally small legs. What made Ellen cringe though was not the grating smile, or the fact he only had two meaty digits on either hand plus thumbs. Nope, what set her on edge was his attire, or rather what it was made of.

_Green. Spandex._

The guy was obviously supposed to be some kind of super hero, but did he have to wear something so gaudy that left so little to the imagination? Seriously, _ew_.

"Well, he's on the radio every week" Ratchet replied. "Other than that, no. Hey, what's with all this 'save the solar system' stuff anyway?"

As it turned out, Ellen didn't like the answer.

Reaching into a compartment in its chest cavity, the robot withdrew...another robot, this one a spindly little hovering thing with camera shutters for optics and, to Ellen's surprise, a wide rectangular head that suddenly extended into the equivalent of a 19" flat screen TV.

The screen quickly flickered into life to display what looked like the bridge on a large space ship against a backdrop of stars, and in the foreground was an alien that looked like the unholy love child of Simon Cowell and a prohibition era gangster. Albeit with faintly purplish skin, solid cyan eyes, and a pear shaped head.

"Hello, citizens of-"

A slide depicting a luscious Earth like planet appeared on screen with 'Novalis' in bright white letters stencilled underneath, in English, surprisingly enough. The slide quickly disappeared to be replaced with the slippery sounding alien once more, interspersed with a selection of cued imagery

"My race, the Blarg, have a small problem. Our planet has become so polluted, so overpopulated, and poisonous that we are no longer able to dwell here. But I, Chairman Drek, have a solution. We are constructing a _pristine_ new world using only the choice selection of planetary components available. So, what does this mean to _you_, you might ask? Using highly sophisticated technology, which you couldn't _possibly_ understand, we will be extracting a large portion of your planet and adding it to our new one. Unfortunately, this change in mass will cause your planet to _spin_ out of control and _drift_ into the sun where it will _explode_ into a flaming ball of gas, but, of course, sacrifices must be made. Thank you for your co-operation"

From off camera, another voice could be heard. "Annnddd cut!"

"And if you don't like it, you can take your whiny, snivelling, snot nosed populations, form a line behind me and kiss my-" Drek seemed to stare off into space for a heart beat before appearing to address the other voice. "What do you _mean_, we're still on? Well turn it off, you idiot!"

After the transmission cut off, the silver robot somehow managed to pack the other one back inside its storage cavity before turning back to the two organics; one incredulous, the other plain horrified.

_'How could anyone...What if he goes after Earth? We'd never stand a chance!' _Ellen broke from her uneasy reverie in time to hear Ratchet voice his own sentiment.

"The people on those planets are hosed! Well, good luck getting Captain Qwark to help you"

"Actually, you could help me" The diminutive machine replied. "If you could use your ship to take me to the co-ordinates contained in this Infobot, I might be able to gather further information there" Ratchet shook his head. "Even if I wanted to, I can't. I'm missing a crucial component of the ship" A few seconds of silence passed as the robot examined the ship before piping up once again.

"The Robotic Ignition System"

Ratchet's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How did you know that?"

"I, sir, happen to be equipped with the latest in Robotic Ignition Systems. My programming allows me to start any ship that I choose" Ratchet rubbed his chin contemplatively "So, I agree to take you to this...wherever it is, and you get this ship started for me?"

"That is what I am proposing"

No sooner had he finished his sentence when the relative peace and quiet was suddenly shattered by a pair of predatory vessels piloted by blue robots that were very familiar to two of the three present.

"Deal!"

In seconds Ratchet had dove into the cockpit and was soon spooling up the engines, the small silver robot managing to clamber in after him. Ellen stood frozen in indecision for a moment until jade eyes locked on to her own.

"Hey Ellen, you coming?"

Determination filled her. She so desperately wanted to see home again, but if she didn't do something, there may not be a home to return to.

Putting actions to her feelings, she shouldered her satchel and eased herself into the back seat of the cockpit as the canopy descended and the ship began to lift off with a rumbling of turbines. The azure haze of the atmosphere quickly gave way to a sight that took her breath away.

"Wow..."

An infinite field of stars stretching as far as the eye could see, each one representing a potential host to new worlds, new life. Craning her neck, she could just about make out the mass of coppery browns that made up the surface of Veldin rapidly disappearing from view.

Despite the situation, Ellen couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement. She was in a position that no human had ever been before; on a _spaceship_ flying through _space_ with an _alien_ and a _sentient robot! _No picture or CGI rendition could compare to the sheer magnitude of the real thing.

"Please return your appendages to the steering mechanism, sir"

Feeling the ship jerk suddenly, Ellen reluctantly tore her gaze away from the spectacle outside, focussing her attention on the conversation between the vessel's other two occupants.

"Huh? Oh right, heh. Sorry" Ratchet quickly corrected their course before turning back to the robot. "Oh, by the way, you can stop calling me 'sir'. The name's Ratchet, and this is Ellen" Noticing the sudden attention on her, Ellen gave an awkward smile and wave. "Uh, hi"

The robot gave a polite nod. "Pleased to make your acquaintances, sir, ma'am. My serial number is B54296-" Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as the ship unintentionally jolted to the left, sending the diminutive machine smack into the side of the cockpit with a reverberating clang.

"Oops! I'll... just call you Clank for short. Hang on a sec"

Ellen helped the newly christened and slightly dazed Clank to sit back on his seat, looking up just in time to see a brilliant blue and green orb rapidly filling the windshield.

"Uh, Ratchet? That's a _planet_; you might want to slow down..."

The exterior of the ship began to glow cherry red as it rapidly plunged through the atmosphere, Ratchet seeming to push buttons and pull levers at random.

"You _do_ know where the brakes are on this thing, right?

...

"_Right?_"

The look on his face told her all she needed to know.

_'Oh crap...'_

* * *

**So there we have it; the second chapter and we are finally off Veldin and in to the game proper. It's probably going to be a while until the next update. I still need to replay the game to make sure I've got a feel for how the story should progress, and I really need to start working on Trouble Shooter again before I get distracted. I tried to make the chemistry between the two leads a bit more down to earth while injecting a little humour, but I think the quality started to drop toward the end. Let me know what you think.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	3. Chapter 3: Unhappy Landings

**Author****'****s note:**

**I know I said that I was going to start concentrating on Trouble Shooter, but I've had a bit of writers block. I know what needs to happen next plot wise, but I haven't managed to sort out how it will happen. In the meantime, I've managed to hammer out another chapter for Time Heals All, which is still my most popular story so far.**

**The response to this story has been quite frankly astonishing, with nearly triple the number of views in the space of just over a week since my last update. In fact, for the time being I intend to make this my main story, with regular updates every week or two.**

**Review replies:**

**Pokecats649 - I'm glad you approve, I tried to add my own original slant on their first meeting.**

**Destiny - I'm relieved someone gets my brand of humour, I was afraid it was going to fall flat on it's face. Thank you.**

**I'd also like to give a shout out to AustinGamer117 (who also favourited my story, sorry I forgot to mention that last time) , Foxyfellow, and Victory Goddess for following this story. You people have made my day.**

**As always, I****'****m trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**So, without further delay, here's chapter 3. **

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

**Unhappy Landings**

**Tobruk Crater, Novalis**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**10:42am local time**

They say that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. They are, of course, a bunch of lying bastards.

There is nothing in the least bit 'good' about plummeting through the atmosphere of an alien planet, being thrown from the wreckage of an exploding spaceship as it smacks full speed into a cliff face, followed by a 20 foot freefall to the ground that knocks the stuffing out of you and is likely to result in broken bones.

Unfortunately, this was the situation that Ellen faced as she lay dazed on her back with an odd sense of deja vu.

She could feel the tickling sensation of grass beneath her; unfocussed eyes staring up at a brilliantly blue, almost cloudless sky. As her thoughts became more coherent, she propped herself up, noting the exotic looking plants and oddly shaped trees that occupied the elevated ridge she had landed on. Were it not for the muffled sound of distant spaceships flying overhead and what sounded like the crump of explosions, it would have been picturesque. Looking to her right, she found Ratchet stretching an arm out to her with Clank stood beside him, both looking none the worse for wear.

"Ellen, you alright?"

Nodding, she grasped his hand and let him pull her up, using it to steady herself as her equilibrium settled. "I guess so...though I can't feel my ass. What the hell happened?" Ratchet shifted uncomfortably "I...kinda messed up the landing. Long story short, we're not leaving the way we came in"

"I guessed as much" She deadpanned at the sight of the still smouldering chunks of debris that occupied the clearing. "So, what do we do now?"

"Perhaps we could procure a ship from one of the inhabitants" Clank pondered.

"If there are any left..."

Following Ratchet's gaze, the trio took in the sight of columns of smoke and fire drifting from the distant cityscape, black painted attack ships tearing through the skies unopposed while strafing and bombing all over.

"We should get going"

Ellen turned to look in Ratchet's direction in time to see Clank leap on to his back, folding up in to the same form from when she had first seen him. With a sigh, she shouldered her ever present satchel bag before turning to follow them towards what looked like a massive drainage pipe interspersed with pillars of flat topped rocks surrounded by flowing water.

Scrambling from rock to rock, Ellen got an impression of just how athletic Ratchet was. He jumped and flipped over falling stalactites, scrambled up a pair of giant moving pistons and on to a protruding balcony where he promptly cleaved through a pair of bird like yellow robots with an ease that made her wince.

_'He's like a little furry ninja...'_

Climbing up a mismatched staircase, the trio made their way through a sliding metal doorway and in to the interior of what was beginning to look like a water processing plant. Avoiding spinning fans and leaping over the canal that bisected the room, Ratchet made short work of the squat gun toting yellow robot guards before moving on with Ellen close to his heels.

The next chamber was much like the previous one, only much larger and minus anything actively trying to kill them. Managing to cross the twin canals without getting drenched, they used a series of pumps and pistons to reach the walkway above before coming upon an observation deck of sorts with a panoramic view of the burning city and surrounding landscape. What grabbed Ellen's attention however was the exceptionally large blue skinned alien, as in easily twice her girth, in brown overalls bent over some technical looking...thingy.

"Dadblast it!"

Ratchet being Ratchet couldn't resist making a jibe as he nudged Ellen, snickering while he pointed at the significant posterior in front of them. "Look, plumber's crack" Ellen tried and failed to restrain a snort of laughter. No matter how childish, it was the first source of amusement she'd had since being torn away from home, damn be the consequences.

"What did you just say?!"

Standing up to his full height, Ellen finally got a good look at the plumber as he turned around; taking note of the short black spikes on his shoulders and pear shaped head, alongside the impressive facial hair and annoyed look on his face. "I said 'Look, the plumber's back'" Ratchet replied nonchalantly. Oddly enough, he didn't look too convinced. "Alright wise guy, shouldn't you folks be on one of them escape transports?"

"Escape transports?" Ellen questioned with a raised brow.

"Newsflash: giant robots attacking!" The plumber gestured with mock hysteria. "The escape transports are taking all the rich folks off this galdarn planet"

"So... why aren't you on one?" Asked the ever tactful lombax.

"Socio-economic disparity"

Both lombax and human blinked in confusion, though it was Ratchet that vocalised a response. "Say what?"

"He hasn't got enough bolts" Clank clarified.

Ellen blinked in surprise, having surmised that 'bolts' had to be the local currency. "Really? I thought plumbers made good money" Back home they certainly would have. Other than doctors and politicians, they were probably one of the highest paid professions around. Nodding, the plumber continued with a scowl. "I probably would if it weren't for my clients being a bunch of cheapskates. Working people like me have to wait for Captain Qwark to save us"

"Well, got anything worth a lot of bolts?"

In response, the plumber pulled a slightly disoriented looking Infobot from his back pocket. Ellen took an involuntary step back as he held it out to them, not wanting to be close to anything that had been near his ass. "I got this thing. Shows two _weirdoes_ ditching their ship. It's got coordinates to a desert planet too"

"An Infobot. Ratchet, Ellen, we could use that"

Nodding in agreement, Ratchet brought up the device on his left arm before pressing a series of buttons on a holographic interface. _'Wireless transfer?'_ Ellen pondered, a theory seemingly proven correct as the plumber raised a similar device. With a nod of approval, the large alien dropped the Infobot before running to the opposite side of the room and diving head first down a pipeline like it was a water slide.

"Geronimo!"

A few seconds of stunned silence passed before Ellen hesitantly broke it. "Did...he just..."

"Slide down a sewer pipe?" Ratchet continued. "Yeah...Alright, let's see what we've got" So saying, the Infobot's head expanded into a screen just like the previous one had, only this one looked like surveillance footage from the cockpit of a small ship flying through space.

At the controls sat a pair of nautic green aliens, similar to the plumber but with enough differences to mark them as a separate species, most obvious of which was the slimmer build. The one on the left wore a tie dye T-shirt, a black and red visor perched atop his head and a worried expression on his face as he frantically pushed buttons and tried to steer through a veritable storm of missiles that kept detonating closer and closer.

"Mayday, mayday! This is the solarship Radical. We seem to be under attack from the planet's surface!"

The other alien was the polar opposite. Clad in a purple suit with tinted glasses perched on his nose, his feet were propped up on the control panel while he tapped away at his phone without a care in the world.

"Relax Skid; it looks like some sort of fireworks display. Probably in your honour"

A missile suddenly blew by, clearing the ship by inches before exploding, Skid ducking reflexively as he dodged out of the blast radius. "Whoa-ho-ho! That was close!" Unfortunately, that's where their luck ran out. The camera shook as a missile exploded directly under the ship, causing Skid to yelp while the other guy glared at him. "Pipe down, I can't concentrate!"

"But we've been hit!"

The suited alien, presumably his agent, seemed hesitant for a moment, the camera clearly showing the ship auguring in to a dive towards the sand coloured planet below. "Ah...uh...an unexpected detour. When we land, I'll see if I can scare up an exhibition for ya"

"We're not gonna live that long!" Skid's agent took his eyes off of his phone long enough to notice the big red missile rapidly closing in on them. "Kid, let's am-scray!" Putting actions to words, Skid hammered a button in the middle of the console while screaming "Eject! Eject!" The two aliens' chairs dropped into the floor just as the missile struck and the screen turned to static. With the message finished, Clank stored the Infobot in his chest cavity

"Did you see that guy on the left?" Ratchet asked. "That was Skid McMarx!"

"I take it he's famous?" Ellen queried. "Does he know about Captain Qwark?" Clank added. Ratchet shook his head "He's a pro hoverboarder; I doubt he knows anything about Qwark though. He's always too busy going off about how _'cool'_ he is"

"Looks like he's in trouble" Clank responded stolidly. Ratchet couldn't resist a smirk "I'll say! I've never saw him look so freaked out"

"We still need to find a ship of our own if we want to- Um, Ratchet, what you are doing?" The lombax in question paused with his wrench hovering over some wooden crates stacked in the corner of the room. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It would appear that you are about to vandalise private property" Clank retorted.

"Wha- _No! _I'm... just... gathering resources! 'Sides, didn't you notice all those crates we passed on the way here? I'll bet they're being sent back to Drek, it's not like he'd miss a few"

It made about as much sense as anything else, Ellen supposed. After all, if Drek was willing to destroy entire planets, why wouldn't he steal any abandoned wealth? Before anyone could say another word, the pile of crates lay smashed, spilling piles of shiny nuts, bolts, and cogs over the floor. Ellen watched agog as the metal trinkets seemed to be sucked in to ratchet's arm mounted device, vanishing without a trace.

"Wha- How?"

"Bolt magnetiser" Ratchet replied smugly. "Collects and breaks down any bolts using nanites to store it in electronic form" He gave a dry chuckle. "You didn't think I was just gonna carry around thousands of bolts in loose change, did you?"

She shook her head in resignation. "Let's just get going, before anything else shows up" Unfortunately, there seemed to be only one way down.

"No"

"Aw, come on!

"I'm not getting my stuff wet!"

"I could always store it for you, Ellen" Clank offered. She paused for a moment before finally relenting. "Alright, fine. Just...Keep it safe" With a nod from the tiny robot, Ellen's satchel bag disappeared in to the veritable black hole that was his chest cavity.

As it turned out, the sewer pipe wasn't that bad. It was pretty much just like a giant water slide, even the water was cool and clear. Ratchet elected to slide on his belly to keep Clank relatively dry, with Ellen tentatively following suit; it was either that or getting her backside wet through, and she _hated_ the squelchiness associated with sitting down while wearing soggy clothing. After a short ride, the pipe brought them out back to the ridge-come-crash site where they originally started.

"We're going to have to go down there, aren't we?" Ellen gestured to the grassy plateau below that was marred by bomb craters and cheerfully yellow killer robots.

"Yep!"

"You don't have to sound so enthusiastic about it!"

"You kidding? This is the most fun I've had in years! Flying through space, blowing up robots, ah...uh, no offence pal"

"None taken" Clank assured.

"It's alright for you; you've got that bloody great wrench to smack them about with. What have I got?" Ellen Snarked.

Ratchet paused in thought for a moment before reaching to a device on his waistband about the size of a smart phone. As his fingers got to within a few inches, the device gave a brief mechanical whir and a metal gauntlet materialised on his right arm shortly before he pulled it off and extended it to her.

"Here. Take it."

"A metal glove?" She gingerly put it on, stiffening briefly as it reconfigured to fit her slimmer appendage. Ratchet shook his head with a wry grin. "Better, it's a Bomb Glove. Gadgetron gives 'em away for free. All you gotta do is squeeze your hand into a fist..." Ellen did so, only to find a small round black ball that looked like the archetypal cartoon bomb, only minus the fuse. "...Then you throw the bomb. Simple, right?" It did seem simple, almost stupidly so. Did this Gadgetron company honestly just hand these things out like sweets at a kid's birthday party?

"Alright. You ready?"

Ellen flexed the fingers on her covered hand before nodding an affirmative. "Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose" Ratchet flashed her a winning smile while twirling his wrench in one hand, letting it fall back to rest on his shoulder.

"Awesome! Let's do this"

As soon as the small lift platform they were riding touched the ground, Ratchet took off like a rocket towards the nearest foe. Dodging its gunfire, the lombax leapt in to the air, bringing his wrench down over his head and in to the robots own. Close behind, Ellen threw the bomb she had in hand at a pair of the winged robots that came scampering around a formation of rocks and shrubbery to their immediate left, already squeezing her hand to dispense another in to her closed fist. Though the bomb fell short of her intended target, it was enough to destroy one robot while the follow up attack took care of the other.

Turning her attention back to Ratchet, she found him already laying in to a group three bipedal robots with a pair of scrapped flyers left in his wake. As Ratchet rapidly approached his target, it suddenly ceased firing before using a booster on its back to gain some distance. Not giving it a chance, he hurled his wrench on a horizontal arc that knocked it out of the air. Evading the gunfire from the other two robots with a front flip, he snatched up his wrench from where it had fallen before using it to decapitate the stunned machine.

While Ratchet was busy, Ellen made use of the distraction he provided to toss more bombs at the other two robots. The first went down in a shower of scrap metal before it even knew what was happening, but the second was quicker off the mark; bracketing her with gunfire and forcing Ellen to find cover behind a raised metal platform while she blindly tossed bombs to keep it at bay.

Seeing her in trouble, Ratchet quickly jumped in with a flurry of strikes that finally put the machine down before rushing to check in on a somewhat shaken human girl.

"Ellen, you alright? Did you get hit anywhere?"

She shook her head, forcing air in to her lungs while trying to calm her hammering heart rate. "No, at least I don't think so. It's just... I've never been shot at before, and it's kind of scaring the shit out of me" Ratchet's face faltered as he helped pull her to her feet once more. "I'm sorry, Ellen. I didn't mean to put you at risk like that. Y'know, it's pretty safe back up on that ridge, you could wait up there while I take a look around"

She bristled with a mixture of frustration and foolish pride, pushing aside her fears and allowing the red mist of anger to simmer. "I'm not a little girl, Ratchet. I've got my own reason for stopping Drek, and I'll be _damned_ if I sit on the sidelines while you fight alone! I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not!" So saying she stalked off towards the bridge in the distance with Ratchet running to catch up.

"I'm not trying to stop you Ellen, I'm just trying to help!" She knew that, but stubbornness made her say otherwise. "I don't want your protection..." Her voice trailed off in to a whisper that the lombax's sensitive ears could barely pick up.

_"...you're not Simon..."_

Ratchet faltered in mid step, a pit of ice forming in his stomach. _'No. No, no, no! I just found a girl I like, and she's already involved with another guy! What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't lose her to some douchebag I've...never...met...'_

His lip curled as an idea began to form. _'That's right... _He's_ not here, _I_ am. I'm the one who pulled her from that crash. I'm the the one that gave her a shoulder to cry on. If he was that great, he'd be here with her instead of me! All I have to do is get her to see that I'm the better man'_ Schooling his features, he caught up and kept pace with an oblivious Ellen just as they ran in to another group of gun toting robots at the base of the bridge.

The confrontation was shorter and more violent; Ratchet letting loose his jealousy fed anger on the machines while Ellen vented her own frustration. By the time the mechanised infantry lay scattered in lots of little pieces and the duo had climbed the stairwell leading to the bridge across the river, they both felt a damn sight better. It was just as well really, since a black painted attack aircraft chose that particular moment to perform a strafing run on the structure just as they were about to cross it.

"Look out!"

Fortunately, the archway they took cover within shielded them from the chunks of concrete and rebar kicked up from the explosions. Unfortunately, a trio of the bipedal robots soon jumped on to the bridge using their boosters before taking cover behind various debris around the three huge holes in the amazingly still intact span. Ellen managed to find the right angle to pitch her bombs after a few tries in order to dislodge the machines from their hiding spots while Ratchet flanked them from the side.

They soon made their way across to the other side, descending the opposite stairs three at a time, before running in to a swarm of even more robots. This time the flying machines dove at them like angry hornets, while the gun wielding ones held back and took pot shots from afar. Ratchet wielded his wrench like a baseball bat, swiping at the insect like robots left and right and caving them in when he made a direct hit. Knowing he had her back, Ellen concentrated on slinging as many bombs down range as possible, bracketing the robots whenever they stood too close together and taking them out.

Moving in to a deforested clearing, their eyes snapped up at the roaring of retro rockets. A large, chunky black ship descended from the sky on a pentagram of sturdy legs with engines flaring, escorted by a tri-squad of those gun robots...which lasted all of ten seconds.

The hiss of hydraulics made both human and lombax perk up, Clank tottering to their side as they watched the ramp of the bulky vessel descend. A bespectacled elderly alien of the same species as the plumber hobbled forth with the aid of a walking stick, the official looking mayoral robes he wore marking him as someone of importance, though he seemed a little on edge.

"Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! Who are you? Mercenaries? Torturers? Assassins? I'll tell you anything! Here, take my Infobot, it's all I got left"

"Sir, we're not assass-" Clank tried before being interrupted by Ratchet "Hold on a sec, let's see what he's got"

The Infobot's head expanded and the message started to play, though oddly in black and white. On screen, the muscle bound figure of Captain Qwark could be seen caught between a lava pit and a hulking bipedal beast with the remnants of chains wrapped around its wrists and neck. As it closed in for the the kill, Qwark pulled out what looked like a reject ray gun from a 1950's Sci-fi movie, which spectacularly... failed to work. The creature reared back before lunging its head forward in an attempted to devour him only for the transmission to freeze

"Has _this_ ever happened to you?"

Suddenly the grainy video was replaced with a full colour close up of Qwark outside a repair shop against the backdrop of a bustling cityscape.

"Hi, I'm Captain Qwark, and believe me, there's nothing worse than starring down a blargian snagglebeast - _from the inside _- and knowing your equipment isn't functioning properly! That's why I come to Al's Robo Shack for all my electronic needs. Al's has been the exclusive repair shop for my super electro gadgets since I was knee high to a sand mouse! If Al can't fix it, it's not broke. Right, Al?"

The camera cut to a portly butter yellow alien wearing a self-advertising green T-shirt, a lab coat, and one of those eye magnifier things that jewellers use. He managed to stutter out an 'Uh...' before Qwark hogged the limelight again.

"You said it pal! So if you're fighting crime, or just fighting grime" He chuckles at the lame joke. "Come to Al's Robo Shack in Metropolis for all your robotic repairs. Al's Robo Shack: it's _Qwarktastic!_"

The screen faded to black, and the Infobot went in to Clank's seemingly endless storage space. "Do you know what this means?"

Ratchet snorted with mirth. "Yeah, Captain Qwark has _really_ sold out" Ellen smirked, while Clank sighed exasperatedly "No, it _means_ Captain Qwark is in Metropolis on planet Kerwan! We could tell him about this invasion" Ellen shook her head. "We won't be doing anything unless we find a ship"

The otherwise ignored elderly alien choose this moment to pipe up. "Huh? Uh... a ship? You mean... you're not going to torture me?"

At the deadpan look from the other three, he fumbled on. "Well, as planetary chairman I could arrange for you to borrow our courier ship!" As if on cue, a green ship with all the aerodynamic properties of a slab of concrete descended from the sky and landed on the scattered remains of Ratchet's former ship.

"Well..." Ellen blinked. "That was convenient" Clank nodded cordially. "You can count on us, sir"

"Right. Thank you, your…chairman…shippliness"

After the trio had said their thanks and goodbyes, they traversed the humpback bridge that extended across to the other side of the river and used the elevator to get back up to the ridge and their new ship, but not before Ratchet insisted on 'liberating' anymore crates of bolts he might have missed previously.

_'I swear he's part magpie. Seriously, every shiny thing that comes along...'_

Since there were only two seats, Clank ended up sitting on Ellen's lap while Ratchet went through pre-flight checks from the pilot's seat. Once he was satisfied with the ship's space worthiness, the lombax brought up the galactic star map and the question on all their minds.

"So, where do we go first; Aridia or Kerwan?"

* * *

**So, quite a lot happening here. First of all, plot development; a seed of conflict between our leads. Let's face it, I can't have them fall madly in love from the get go now, can I? Second, combat. Ellen is not a trained soldier; she's a teenage girl thrust in to a hostile situation. (Though she will get better with time) Hopefully that is reflected in this chapter. Third and finally, a bit of an info dump. I've tried to take a few game mechanics that we take for granted - like bottomless wallets and just why there are random crates of money scattered everywhere - and given it a more realistic basis, even if it is just glossed over.**

**Right, I think that's all for now. Next time, we get to find out which planet they decide to visit first. Until then, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	4. Chapter 4: Sharks, Sand, and Celebrities

**Author****'****s note:**

**I actually made my deadline with a day to spare! It'll be a week tomorrow since my last update and I've already got 300 views! All excitement aside, some of the reviews for the last chapter have given me food for thought and a few ideas for future chapters, which I will elaborate on in the review replies below.**

**Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous one. This is partially due to there being only so many variations on smiting sandsharks, but mostly down to harsh re-editing to pace the story better. On another note, after re-reading the previous three chapters, I discovered a number of silly mistakes and even missing words in parts. My fault for relying on spell check, auto correct, and not properly going over my own work before posting. Expect to see a few minor tweaks to the other chapters soon if you plan to re-read them.**

**Review replies:**

**Victory Goddess - First of all, let me thank you for your feedback. I based Ratchet's moves off my own experience with the first game. Compared to the sequels, the original's controls when in combat are…clunky, and since Ratchet is kind of new to this whole hero business, I tried to reflect this to a degree. He'll definitely get a chance to shine soon though.**

**On that note, you seem to have partly read my mind. I plan for there to be breaks in the story where Ratchet can teach Ellen to fight better, but she might have a few tricks she can teach him herself. As for Clank…**_**Maybe~**_

**I would recommend trying to track down cheap copies of the first two games, or better still buy the HD collection if you can find it. The games might be over a decade old, but they're still as fresh and fun to play as the day they came out. To answer your question, I definitely plan on covering the first three games at least, and possibly Deadlocked / Gladiator. Beyond that, I'm not sure. I'd probably only write for the main releases and skim over the minor games like Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank.**

**Amberdiamondswords - I'm glad you liked it. This story will be a bit of a slow burner in terms of their relationships, but I intend to give them a jump start in the next chapter or so.**

**Pokecats649 - Thank you once again. Your exuberance continues to inspire me.**

**AustinGamer117 - I assume your referring to Ellen, in which case no. Rest assured, I have not, nor do I ever intend to turn her in to a lombax at any point. It's been done to death, and sort of eliminates the entire point of 'fish-out-of-water' style stories such as this.**

**evil Ratchet96 - Thanks for reviewing. I've tried to follow the original plot fairly close to canon, but I will be taking liberties at certain points to enhance the storyline. After all, if I stuck slavishly to the script without adding something of my own, there wouldn't be much point in having an OC along for the ride.**

**destiny - Nice to hear from you again. Just wait until he finds out who his 'rival' for Ellen's affections is…**

**BulletWitch1985 - Sometimes it's good to go back and revisit old games you haven't played for a while, you might even come away with a new perspective. As I said in my response to Victory Goddess, I have every intention to continue with the series up to at least Up Your Arsenal and maybe Deadlocked (Gladiator for PAL release). After that I'm not sure, but if I did, I'd cover the 'R&C Future' story arc while glossing over the PSP games.**

**I'd like to take this opportunity to thank TehBdog and evil Ratchet96 for following and favouriting this story, as well as the established followers and favouritiers, (Is that a real word? Well, it is now) you know who you are.**

**As ever, I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Phew, longest note ever. If you skipped it, you probably missed out on some hints to future content. But that's okay, it just means less potential spoilers. Anyway, here goes chapter 4.**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

**Sharks, Sand, and Celebrities**

**Outpost X11, Aridia**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**2:35am local time**

The first thing Ellen noticed upon stepping foot on Aridia's surface was not the shifting sands, nor the massive construction site teeming with worker robots in the distance, but rather the temperature. Like the Sahara desert of Earth, the temperature during the night cycle on Aridia plummeted rapidly, the cool night air making Ellen shiver in her still damp clothing as she warily slid out of the cockpit to stand on the planet's surface.

After a brief discussion, Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank had unanimously agreed to take a detour from their mission to find Qwark in order to search for the missing Skid and his agent on the desert planet. Things had been pretty tense on their approach run, but so far they hadn't seen any sign of the orbital defence missile batteries that shot down the celebrity hoverboarder, and there had been a distinct lack of any reception committee once they landed, much to her suspicion.

Ellen's thoughts churned as her eyes took in the strange spiky cacti-like plant life and the massive construction site teeming with worker robots in the distance. Who attacked Skid? What were they protecting? And why hadn't they engaged their vessel once it made orbit? All these questions would have to wait as Ratchet approached her with a wide smile on his face and a large tubular weapon with a fuel canister slung underneath and a lit pilot light at the muzzle clutched in both hands.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is"

If it were even possible, his smile seemed to grow even wider as he pointed the weapon skywards and depressed the trigger. A gout of flame spewing forth, lighting up the night and almost singeing Ellen's eyebrows despite being stood back several feet. A moment of silence passed before Ellen cautiously broke it.

"Ratchet, where did you get that?"

"Isn't it great?" He replied happily "It's called a Pyrocitor, I got it from that vendor over there" Her eyes followed his pointing finger to a large blue tiled cube projecting a holographic logo of a capital 'G' orbited by the word 'Gadgeton' in a silvery blue font.

...

"You bought a _flamethrower_ from a _vending machine?_"

"Uh, yeah. I needed a replacement for my bomb glove. Why, what's wrong?"

Ellen was aghast. She couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea that a company manufacturing weapons would distribute them in the same way as soft drinks, and said as such.

"Aside from it being banned by law back home, what kind of _irresponsible_ company sells a freaking _flamethrower_ to the public? What if some kids got hold of one?"

"Actually, I believe there are several restrictions and safeguards in place for the distribution of personal defence weapons" Clank interjected.

"Yeah, and there's plenty of warnings and stuff with all their products" Ratchet held the flame spewing weapon up for her to inspect. "See?"

Ellen squinted at a set of barely visible small print stamped on the side of the gun's main body.

"'Gadgetron is not liable for burns, scorch marks, property damage, etcetera incurred while using this quality product. Not intended for use by any sentient under 18 years old. Incinerate _responsibly_'?!"

"You see? Nothing to worry about"

Ellen heavily resembled a gaping fish for several seconds as she tried to formulate a response as to just how wrong it all was before finally giving up. This wasn't home; things obviously worked very differently here, especially with regard to the legal use of deadly weapons. Realising she was probably asking for a headache if she dwelled too much upon it, Ellen shook off the mental cobwebs and focussed on the task at hand.

Making their way past the vendor, they soon came across a downed escape pod in a narrow canyon close to a distinctly nervous looking tie dye shirt wearing alien.

"It's him! Skid McMarx!" Ratchet exclaimed. "That man from the Infobot" Clank added as the celebrity hoverboarder turned to face them while plastering a look of confident nonchalance on his face.

"In the flesh, little dude! You guys get a load of that _epic_ space battle I was in?"

"We saw you all right" Ratchet replied with a hint of amusement. "_Screaming_ for help"

Skid practically squirmed as he tried to back peddle his way out of the hole he'd dug for himself. "Uh... That was like, a war cry"

"Do you have any idea who attacked you, or why?" Ellen changed the subject. She did genuinely want to know, but she also felt a little sorry for Skid. Had she been in his position during the attack on his ship, she probably would have been scared witless.

"I dunno, little lady. We were on our way to hoverboard practice when my agent and I got ambushed out of, like, nowhere"

"Did he survive the crash, sir?" Clank queried.

"Eh, he's okay" Skid shrugged, apparently none too concerned. "But, I've had a _little_ trouble getting back to my ship..." Following Skid's uneasy gaze, lombax, human, and robot alike watched as a pair of dull red, stubby legged, snapping tooth filled jaws with a shark's fin on their heads ran past. "...due to my _sprained _ankle"

"Oh come on!" Ratchet scoffed. It wasn't like he hadn't faced worse before on Veldin. Ellen didn't like the look of them any more than Skid did, but at least these things couldn't shoot back.

"If you can take out all the sandsharks, I _just_ might have a spare hoverboard for you" Ellen could practically see the gears turning in the lombax's head, even as Clank tried to dissuade him.

"We'd love to help you Mr McMarx, but we need to find Captain-"

"Shhh!" Ratchet interrupted. "One of your boards, eh? Hmmm... I've always wanted a decent hoverboard. Well... alright, you... just keep that foot _elevated_"

Leaving Skid where he was, they crossed in to sandshark territory via makeshift bridge and quickly found themselves under attack from a quartet of the mawed terrors as they burst from the sand just feet away. Before Ellen could even react, Ratchet already had his new toy sweeping in an arc that bathed the sandsharks with fire, a twinkle of a maniacal glint in his eye. Slightly shaken by the suddenness of the engagement, Ellen trailed behind, a palmed bomb at the ready as they halted at a fork in the canyon.

"We should split up, cover more ground that way. I'll take the right, you go left" So saying, the possibly pyromaniacal lombax raced off over a pair of crude bridges over a meandering sludge river, leaving a trail of chargrilled corpses in his wake. Which smelled of barbeque chicken, for some reason.

Taking a deep breath, Ellen cautiously advanced through the fairly wide gully bordered by spiky plants and rocky outcrops. It didn't take long for her to run in to a strange fleshy green growth surrounded by sandsharks milling around. Judging the distance, she quickly threw a bomb followed by another two in rapid succession. The first landed at the base of the growth, shredding it and a pair of the red creatures in the same blast. Spurned in to action, another dozen of the snapping two legged terrors propelled themselves out of the sand and charged straight in to the path of the other two bombs, whittling their numbers further still.

A pair of survivors pressed the attack, too close for her to use any more bombs without injuring herself. The nearest jumped, intent on sinking it's teeth in to her arm, only to fall to a well timed dodge followed by a impromptu knuckle sandwich to the face via Bomb Glove. The last ducked around its fallen sibling in time to meet a size seven boot that punted the little red bastard almost to the far wall of the canyon. Once she was sure that none of her opponents were likely to get back up, Ellen continued onwards to the end of the canyon.

All too soon, she ran in to Ratchet at the base of the wide based pillar of rock that sat in the middle of the area, the smell of cooked meat drifting down from above along with wisps of acrid smoke.

"Hey" She greeted. "Run in to any trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle" He patted his weapon before gesturing with his head to the canyon exit. Ready to get going?"

With a nod, they both pushed on side by side until they reached the final resting place of the solarship Radical. Surprisingly the ship looked virtually intact, even if it was half buried in a jumbled pile of rocks and cacti. Before they could investigate further, what looked like the entire remaining population of sandsharks erupted from the ground and swarmed towards them en mass. Between Ratchet's Pyrocitor and Ellen's bombs, the horde quickly succumbed to their duel assault, leaving them alone in the still night air with only the sounds of passing cargo transports overhead for company.

Shortly after the area was finally sandshark free, Skid showed up; conspicuously lacking any gait from his 'sprained ankle'. Reaching the downed vessel, he typed his personal code in to a keypad on the ship's side, causing the cargo bay access doors to swing open. After a brief rummage, Skid apparently found what he was looking for as he held up a silver metal board with canard stabilizers and a pair of small thrusters on the back.

"Here man, catch!"

He tossed it in to Ratchet's waiting arms, the lombax's eyes lighting up at the sight of it. "A brand new Z-3000! You can't even _buy_ these!"

"Well, I gotta bail. Catch you dudes at the hoverboard races" So saying, Skid, left through the other side of the cargo bay. Apparently, Christmas had come early for Ratchet, though Ellen felt a little lost.

_'Hoverboard racing?' _

Mentally adding it to the list of things to look up later, Ellen joined the boys as they followed Skid's route through the crashed ship. Finding themselves on top of a cliff face with a shear drop in to the murky brown sludge below, the trio made use of a nearby cherry picker to bring them down safely to dry land. With Skid's agent still missing, they set off to investigate the distant construction site and search for any sign of his presence.

Jumping over a congealed pool of the brown sludge, they ran in to a few sandsharks that quickly fell to Ratchet's wrench and a well placed bomb. Ellen had no idea what the brown stuff was, but it seemed to have the same properties as quicksand if the half sunken construction equipment nearby was anything to go by. As they passed a few incomplete girders, a thick set yellow robot with a blow torch for an arm and an oversized red fuel tank on his back turned to block their path. Cranking up the fuel pressure, the robot turned his welding tool in to a crude flamethrower that swept the area in a horizontal arc.

Without breaking stride, Ratchet quickly feinted to one side before flipping over the wall of fire. At the apex of his jump, he released his wrench with a deft flick of the wrist, impacting the machine's face and staggering it long enough for one of Ellen's bombs to detonate the fuel tank. The blast was almost enough to bowl her over, though Ratchet managed to tuck in to a roll to avoid the worst of the impact upon hitting solid ground again.

"Next time... we do that from a _lot_ further away"

Ratchet managed a chuckle as he climbed to his feet. "Yeah, I think you _nearly_ singed my tail that time"

Ellen faux scowled at the now smirking lombax. "You saying I couldn't hit you, fuzz ball?"

"Ain't managed it yet" With a taunting flick of his tail, Ratchet was off again, leaving her to wonder if her friend had a death wish.

_'Friends... Are we really friends?'_

Ellen had known Ratchet for what constituted to less than a day, yet she felt strangely comfortable with both him and Clank. She hadn't spoken much to the adorably small, politely spoken robot. Other than the fact that he seemed well learned, if a little naive, she knew next to nothing about him. Something she resolved to fix at the earliest opportunity.

Ratchet was another game altogether. Even if they started off on the wrong foot, she had grown to trust the furry feline, and not just because he'd probably saved her life. Ratchet was brash, smart mouthed and more than a little cocky, but his heart was in the right place. He was a damn sight better behaved than most of the boys she had gone to school with, that's for sure; she didn't know anyone else who would go that far out of their way to help a complete stranger in their time of need. She'd definitely need to make up for snapping at him on Novalis sooner than not, and maybe get him to show her how to better defend herself since danger seemed to revolve around their little group.

Another construction robot stood with its back towards them, working on a drainage outlet while a bunch of sandsharks milled around it. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ratchet threw his wrench like a boomerang, tearing a rent in the robot's fuel tank and leaving it open to a pre-prepared bomb from Ellen. The explosive combined with the exposed liquid fuel source incinerated everything within a 12 foot radius of the initial blast.

As they approached the unfinished structure, Ellen began to appreciate just how big it was; ten storeys of shining steel and light, almost blocking out the horizon. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the ones who shot down the Radical didn't want anyone to find this facility, and judging by the similarities between these worker robots and the combat models they had encountered on Novalis, Drek had to be involved somehow.

The entrance to the site proper was guarded by a quartet of alerted construction bots which were dealt with in a similarly violent fashion; with Ratchet acting as bait as he flambéed any stray sandsharks while Ellen exploited the machines weak spots. Unfortunately, these machines seemed to catch on quickly, and spread out to minimise the effect of Ellen's bomb runs.

After back flipping and pirouetting through the air with an ease that would make a trapeze artist jealous, Ratchet managed to isolate one robot and get in close where he could do some damage. Ducking under a clumsy swing, he unleashed a flurry of strikes with his wrench before finishing with an uppercut that knocked the machines block off. With the last robot falling to a lucky bomb strike, the mismatched team stepped on to the service elevator that would take them inside.

Reaching the top, it was clear that the facility was no where nearing completion; the route directly in front being inaccessible due to the missing floor section and nigh two storey drop. Hanging a right, they took out several construction bots while traversing narrow scaffolding and industrial grade conveyor belts, being ambushed from above by even more machines all the way. Moving up a floor almost to the apex, they took another service lift down to the basement level of the complex.

The foundations were a myriad of sand, sludge, sharks, and killer robots scattered around a massive industrial reactor that would eventually power the facility. For now though, it was just a convenient way to ascend to the very top of the structure. Carving a path, Ratchet boosted Ellen up on to one of the reactors maintenance platforms before hauling himself up. Repeating the process, they made it to the top of the reactor only to find a stack of large riveted metal pipes arranged in a triangle and occupied by - what else? - more sandsharks.

Taking a pipe each, Ratchet elected to hose his side with fire, while Ellen tossed a bomb down her pipe before ducking back to avoid the resulting explosion. Peaking around the edge, she jerked back suddenly as a singed and very angry sandshark snapped its jaws inches from her face. Her quick reaction combined with the sandshark's momentum resulted in the red mawed beast flying off the edge of the gantry to the depths below, and her heart leaping in to her mouth at the close call.

Following the gantry round the room, they came to an unfinished section that required them to shimmy along while dangling from a ledge until they could pull themselves up to the next level. From there it was only a short ladder climb until they were stood on the very top of this area of the construction site. There had been no further clues as to the facility's purpose, but seeing as it was probably months from being finished, Ellen supposed that it didn't matter in the short run. With luck, Drek would be stopped long before that happened.

Finally getting out of the towering structure and back on to more natural land, the sound of frustrated ranting drew them to the base of a large cannon that occasionally spat missiles at targets beyond the heavens. It was in the shadow of the orbital defence weapon where they found another escape pod, and a familiar figure wearing a trench in the floor with his constant pacing while desperately trying to make contact on his phone.

"Aargh, no signal whatsoever! This down time is killing me!"

"Do you need medical attention, sir?" Clank politely enquired. Apparently machines and metaphors don't mix.

"Don't be so literal, son! The problem is I'm stranded on this backwater planet and my star client is nowhere to be found"

"Hey..." Ratchet drew out. "We saw you on that Infobot! You're Skid's agent!"

"_Was_ Skid's agent" He corrected. "Haven't seen him since our ship crashed, and an agent without a client is like a flea without a dog!" Ellen frowned at the grossly appropriate analogy. She really didn't trust guys like these.

"Say, you look like a couple of athletic kids. If you can bring back the championship prize from the hoverboard races in Blackwater City, I'll make you two my next stars! What do you say?"

"Thanks, but no thanks" Ellen replied. _'Especially since he admitted he's a damn leech'_

Clank seemed to be on the same wavelength "We have no time for trivial matters, sir"

"Hmmm... I could be the next Skid McMarx!"

_'...And Ratchet has stars in his eyes. Wonderful'_

Dragging an excited lombax in their wake, the trio used what can best be described as a very claustrophobic subterranean transport terminal to travel under the brown sludge to a similar station on the other side near to their original landing zone. Why Skid's agent never used it to get away from his pod's landing site is anyone's guess. Before leaving however, Ellen had a thought, or rather her stomach did.

"Ratchet?"

"Yeah?"

"Before we go, can we grab one of those sandsharks? I'm starving"

...

"I'm sorry; I could have sworn you said you wanted to..._eat_...a sandshark?"

Ellen honestly didn't see a problem. Because of her brother's military experience and survival training, she was used to living off the land during their occasional camping trips together. Catching, killing, and skinning rabbits and other local fauna to cook and eat was like second nature to her. As far as she was concerned this was no different; with no local currency to her name, she wasn't about to pass up on a free meal.

Ratchet on the other hand wrinkled his nose in revulsion. Despite coming from a backwater planet, he preferred his meals to be already dead, packaged and stamped with a sell by date, thank you very much.

"Yeah, the ones you toasted earlier smelt _so_ good. All we have to do is cook one with your flamethrower and-"

"If I may" Clank interceded "I believe sandsharks are supposed to be poisonous"

Seeing the disappointment in her eyes, and sensing an opportunity to get to know her better without being shot at, Ratchet proposed an idea. "Tell you what; When we get to Kerwan, I'll buy us lunch. My treat. What do you say?"

Ellen smiled, even as her stomach gargled in anticipation. "Sounds great. I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse"

Letting her take the lead on the walk back to their ship, Ratchet pondered her last words before turning to question his robotic companion.

"Clank?"

"Yes, Ratchet?"

"What's a horse?"

...

"I have no idea"

* * *

**I blame the fact that I had a random craving for chicken combined with a lack of sleep for the last part. Still, it sets things up neatly (kind of) for their visit to Metropolis, which might be a two part piece or an extended chapter if I expand upon what will technically be Ratchet and Ellen's first date of sorts. On another note, I've tried to slightly parody the game's lax approach to gun control laws. Even in space, weapon sales have to be regulated somehow.**

**Next time: Food, Firepower, and Flying trains**.

**Until then, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	5. Chapter 5: Three's a Crowd

**Author****'****s note:**

**Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. 600 views?! I can't believe how many people have read and actually like this story, I'm positively beside myself with joy! After much consideration, I decided to split this chapter in half due to it starting to grow far to large in order to release in time. Seriously, once I started typing the story just seemed to flow. **

**This chapter turned out to be the biggest yet. It could be considered filler, but I feel it's important to take a break from the action in order to get the main characters to bond a little, as well as address some of the issues raised in previous and more recent reviews.**

**I'm also thinking about getting a cover for this story, but can't draw to save my life. If anyone would like to assist, please read the author's note at the end of the chapter.**

**Review replies:**

**Amberdiamondswords - That was actually a last minute quip, believe it or not. Glad you found it funny.**

**Guest - I didn't really think about the hover boarding until you mentioned it. Your review got me to thinking about inserting a few BTTF references, including a certain scene from the third movie that may or may not make it in to the next chapter depending on whether or not it affects pacing. As for your next question, well that's actually being covered in this chapter among other things. I hope you enjoy the HD collection; it's actually what inspired me to start writing this story in the first place.**

**Pokecats649 - Aw, you're making me blush.**

**ReginaDC21 - I would have to agree, it's always a fine line between making a character too powerful or irrelevant to the story. Don't get me wrong, powerful almost God-like (or should that be Sue-like) characters **_**can**_** be interesting when they are written well and used in the right context, but the instances are far and few between.**

**I think there might be a little confusion there, which is probably my fault for not making it clear enough at the beginning of the story; Simon is Ellen's recently deceased **_**brother**_**, whom she misses very much. Since Ratchet only has scraps of information to go on, he thinks Simon is her boyfriend. Their relationship so far revolves around Ratchet trying to win a so far oblivious Ellen from a non existent rival, something that will come to a head in the future.**

**I hadn't planned on their being any other love interests to sway Ellen in this story, but there's no saying there couldn't be in the sequels. As far as I'm aware, there are absolutely no humans in the R & C series what so ever. The nearest equivalent would be either markazians - like Talwyn - Qwark, or Ace Hardlight to a lesser degree. Hope that helps.**

**dsetiny - Thank you. I try to give a bit of background detail to give a sense of immersion to each chapter, not only to better set the story, but also for the benefit of anyone who sadly hasn't played the first game for what ever reason. As for Ratchet and Ellen's first 'date', it's here right now in this chapter, though you can bet it'll be a little…unconventional.**

**anonymous - I'm happy you're happy. If there's one thing that bugs me, it's when someone posts a chapter then doesn't update for months or even years at a time without letting their readers know what's going on, (Though I suppose that makes me a hypocrite considering my track record with Trouble Shooter) which is why I try to update as fast and as regularly as possible.**

**Many thanks to KateAlexandraH and kboyer36 for following this story, as well as MyFriendHasOCD, who also favourited along with Shiny Rayquaza, MysteryWolf, and Phoenix NightStar; joining those who already follow and favourite this story, and by definition prod me in to continuing it further. Thank you all **

**Unsurprisingly, I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**I can't help but think I'm missing something in this chapter, but I don't know what… Anyway, here's chapter 5.**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 5: **

**Three's a Crowd**

**Metropolis, Kerwan**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**8:32am local time**

"So, this Gadgetron is like a supranational corporate entity that makes and owns pretty much everything?" Ellen managed to vocalise between bites on a half melted Nano bar (now with 12% more flavouring!) she'd found discarded in a storage compartment on the ship's passenger side to stave off her hunger. "That is not entirely inaccurate" Clank replied "Gadgetron is the single largest extra solar entity in the entire galaxy, with interests in almost all aspects of commercial and domestic goods"

After the incident with the flamethrower back on Aridia, and arranging a rescue ship for Skid and his agent, Ellen had wanted to know more about Gadgetron and their quasi amoral practices. Unsurprisingly, it was Clank who turned out to be the most knowledgeable among the three, and the conversation had been both educational and enlightening for her understanding of how things worked in this galaxy. As it turned out, Gadgetron really did have their fingers in way too many pies than Ellen was comfortable with. From baby milk to bunker busting smart bombs; almost 80% of the galactic market was dominated by the consumer giant.

_'A bit like Microsoft, Google, and Apple all rolled in to one, then'_

As for the weapons vendors, they were a product of politics.

Apparently, due to the expense, the Solana galaxy had no formal overarching military force. Instead, all citizens had a right to bear arms; with individual citizens and planetary militias expected to defend their own worlds against outside threats, or otherwise rely upon mercenaries and roving heroes such as Captain Qwark. With no military organisation to gain defence contracts from, Gadgetron had done the next best thing; Make military grade hardware available to anyone for the right price, hence the flamethrower and lord knows what else being stocked in branded vending machines on street corners and isolated locales across the galaxy.

With such a skewed and disorganised system in place, it was small wonder Drek had managed to get away with his scheme as he had so far. With a seemingly endless army of robots at his command and no organised resistance, Drek could pursue his goals with impunity. Unless they could somehow enlist Qwark's aid, the only thing that could hope to stop the diabolical despot was just the three of them. The thought was sobering, but only made Ellen more determined to see things through to the end.

"We're coming up on Kerwan. Everyone strapped in?"

Stuffing the rest of the bar in to her mouth, Ellen checked her harness before giving a muffled confirmation to Ratchet, her hands locked around Clank's midsection as he sat perched on her lap. For now, she was going to put off the philosophising and enjoy herself for a while. As they entered the atmosphere, a dense bank of thick cloud cover briefly enveloped them before revealing a crystal blue sky and the sprawling cityscape of Metropolis below.

"Whoa..."

The brief glimpse from the Infobot didn't even do it a hint of justice. For as far as the eye could see, a rich tapestry of polished brass, shining steel, and sparkling glass interspersed with luscious greenery covered the planet's surface. Stretching like the fingers of giants to the very heavens above, these towering structures were the true definition of the word 'skyscraper'. As they flew lower over the city, Ellen could greater appreciate the magnificent architecture in greater detail. Each of the tightly packed buildings was unique, with no two having quite the same shape or decor, but they all seemed to ascribe to the same blend of art deco style mixed with a 1960's 'world of tomorrow' look. Hanging tastefully from ledges and decorating the boulevards and walkways that crisscrossed the suspended city was a surprising amount of plants, flowers and greenery for the high altitude.

Weaving through the mid morning traffic that was made up of air cars that belonged in the Jetsons, Ellen briefly wondered what would happen if one experienced any engine trouble. The city was so high above the planet that the surface couldn't be seen below a thick fog that blanketed everything six miles below what passed for street level. Put bluntly, it was a _very_ long way down with little chance of survival should someone fall, probably the reason for all the safety railings she could see on the pedestrian routes they passed.

Getting close to the city centre, Ratchet brought the courier ship in to land on a railed observation deck extending from a building in the middle of the commercial district. Dismounting, the trio took a moment to appreciate the scenery before turning to stroll through a large decorative archway lined with leafy palms and down a paved bridge to a raised circular platform with branching walkways, an attendant Gadgetron vendor, and an unrivalled view of what Clank pointed out to be a main transit hub in the distance.

Ellen's eyes didn't know where to rove next as she drank in the sight of aliens going about their daily lives. It was so surreal, yet strangely comforting to see so many people of different species interacting with each other just like any normal urban population on Earth; couples out walking, friends out shopping, neighbours gossiping and talking about the weather. So lost was she in her observation, that she didn't notice Ratchet until he gently shook her on the shoulder.

"Hey Ellen, you alright? You kinda spaced for a minute there"

She shook her head before turning to face him with the ghost of a smile on her lips. "I'm fine, this is all just so..._wow! _I've never seen a city look so _beautiful_, or _clean_, let alone one up in the clouds! And all the _people_..."

Ratchet chuckled as he interrupted her gushing. "Never been off world before I take it?" He added her confirmation to the mental list of growing questions he had about the girl before replying. "Me neither before today. Listen, I called a cab to take us to a little cazar run place a few blocks away"

"Hang on. If you've never been here before, how did you know it was there?"

"Easy, I looked it up online" He waved his wrist mounted device in the air.

"Oh"

Ellen felt like face palming. Of course he did. That little device on his arm was basically like a smart phone, so it was a given that it would have access to this galaxy's version of the internet.

"So anyway, I figured in the meantime we ought to do a little shopping while we wait. Get you some better gear"

"But I don't have any money"

"Don't worry about it, I'm paying. No buts" He started as she opened her mouth to protest "You can't rely on that Bomb Glove forever. Do you even know how much ammo you've got left?"

She honestly didn't, but it probably wasn't much considering how many she'd been tossing around. As much as she loathed the idea of relying on charity, she knew Ratchet had a point; Things were only going to get harder from here on out, and she'd need all the help she could get. Plus she really wanted to get her hands on one of those wrist thingies that Ratchet had, if only so she could look things up herself rather than pick Clank's considerable brains- Er, processor.

Following his gesture to the blue metallic cube, Ellen strolled over to stand by him as it split open and shifted to form a trio of viewing screens; two to either side and one below, with the projector taking up the middle. The right screen burst with static briefly before resolving itself in to the bored looking image of a green salamander like alien with red hued eyes and wearing a red short sleeved armoured vest.

"Hey there, fuzz ball"

His posture straightened and his attention focussed when he caught sight of Ellen through the camera mounted on the top of the vendor.

"And Hellooo lady! What can I do you for today?"

Ratchet's face twitched briefly as he unconsciously stepped closer to Ellen in a protective manner. Not sure if she should be flattered or annoyed by the lombax's behaviour, Ellen decided to press on.

"I'd like to see what you've got for sale. Do you have anything a bit longer ranged than this" She held up her Bomb Glove while half clenching the fingers.

"You betcha! Just got a new shipment of Blasters in; fully automatic, contoured grip, and of course, Quick Select compatible. All for only 5000 bolts. Do you have an account with us?"

Apparently, you needed to have an account registered with Gadgetron before you could purchase anything more deadly than a toothpick. The process of signing up was mercifully quick, if a little intrusive though. Did they _really_ need to know her grandmother's maiden name? What could they _possibly_ want with that kind of information?

The vendor turned out to be pretty easy to use. Aside form the salesman giving colour commentary on his stock, the bottom panel contained a touch screen catalogue of currently stocked items, with the relevant information displayed in the left while the projector displayed a four dimensional image of the currently selected item. Ellen honestly had a hard time not playing about with the alien tech as she skimmed through the somewhat limited items in stock.

She ended up buying a Blaster, despite Ratchet's mutterings about it being overpriced, along with a Quick Select module to store it in, and a replacement Bomb Glove for Ratchet. What really caught her attention though was something she almost missed while checking the melee weapons available. The encounter with the sandsharks she'd had on Aridia made Ellen realise that she'd need something for when enemies got too close that didn't involve punching it with a Bomb Glove. Near the bottom of the list appeared to be her answer.

"What's that?"

The shopkeeper blinked awake from whatever daze he was in as he turned to flip through his own terminal off screen. "Huh? Didn't even know that was still here. It's an old Versa Blade, used to be real popular until the Omni Wrench series made 'em obsolete. You interested?"

Yes she was.

Seven inches of charcoal grey, diamond coated stainless steel blade, with a double serrated back edge; a five inch rust coloured rubberised handle, and a specially designed guard with a thumbable button inset. Aside from the futuristic materials used in its construction and the additional feature, it was almost an exact replica of a United Cutlery UC2831 Nightstalker tanto-combat knife.

According to the specifications, the Versa Blade used high frequency seismic vibrations to penetrate armour by tearing it apart at the molecular level, probably what the button was for. The butt of the handle could also be magnetised in order to operate bolt cranks and other machinery that would normally require an Omni Wrench. All in all, it was perfect for her purposes.

"How much?"

By the time the shopkeeper had rung up her purchases, and Ratchet was several thousand bolts lighter, their taxi had arrived. Ellen still felt a little guilty about spending his money, but the lombax waved it off. After all, most of it wasn't his to start with. Attaching the Quick Select to her belt, Ellen began to store her weapons with Ratchet's assistance.

The device was a bit of a strange novelty for her, since it consisted of two separate parts; the storage module for the items, and a contact lens that displayed an augmented reality map of the modules contents, as well as displaying the relevant information on ammunition and assisted targeting for weapons. In order to select an item, the user would first keep a hand close to the module, which would bring up the AR display in the user's vision. Using minute eye movements to 'look' at the item they wanted, the selected weapon or gadget would then materialise in the user's hand for immediate use.

It seemed weird and awkward to Ellen, but with practice she could see the advantage of such a system. The only real disadvantage was the limited storage space and that it only worked with Gadgetron approved products.

The ride on the automated air cab was almost as breathtaking as seeing the city from high orbit, with the added advantage of having an unrestricted 360 degree view. As they flew past the transit hub, the taxi came around in lazy descending arc across a tiled plaza near to an artificial lake maintained by a pair of cycling water generators on either end of the improbable construct. Ellen was so absorbed in trying to mentally dissect the inner workings of such a colossal undertaking that she didn't notice they had already arrived at their destination until she felt Ratchet take her by the arm and gently guide her out of the still hovering vehicle.

After paying the fare, a short walk along what Ellen was starting to think of as the Riviera district bought them to the restaurant Ratchet mentioned. It was a family run open air establishment with a pair of waiters serving left and right, and several tables under the shade of leafy palms outside on the plaza overlooking the river.

Taking their seats, Ellen took one look at the incomprehensible cazaran script on the menu before deciding to let Ratchet order on her behalf. They ended up with two daily specials featuring something called 'psytopus' for Ratchet and Ellen with a glass of naxa juice each, while Clank decided on a bowl of mixed washers and grommets. While they waited for their food to arrive, Ratchet decided to strike up conversation.

"So Ellen, you said earlier that you've never been off world before. But if that's the case, what were you doing on that ship before it crashed?" His tone wasn't accusatory, but rather curious. Ellen realised now was as good a time as any to come clean about her situation, perhaps these two could even help her find a way home when this mess was over.

"Ratchet, I wasn't on that ship. As far as I know, I've never been on any space going ship before I met you"

"I believe that was the vessel that bought me to Veldin" Clank chipped in. "However, Ellen was not aboard at the time"

"But I found you in the impact crater!" Ratchet exclaimed. "If you weren't on the ship, then how did you get there?"

She rubbed her eyes before looking at him tiredly. "I honestly don't know. The last thing I remember was nearly getting flattened by a meteorite. There was this weird humming noise and then just a surge of pain, felt like it was going to tear me apart. When I woke up, I was on Veldin, half naked and very confused" Ratchet had the good grace to cough awkwardly at the look she shot him, while Clank asked the question that was on the mind of both himself and his lombax friend.

"It would seem that you were transported involuntarily by a force of great magnitude. The question is, where were you transported from?"

And so Ellen told them of Earth, and her home country of Scotland. They seemed quite surprised to learn that her home planet was in an entirely different galaxy altogether, and especially at how her people had barely managed to leave their own planet to explore their closest neighbour. Of course with that came the inevitable question of species and she had to explain humanity in brief, along with a very abridged history.

She had been annoyed when Ratchet admitted that he had thought her to be a deformed markazian at first, but relented when he'd shown her a picture of one on his Wrist Com, as she learned his arm mounted device to be called. She had to admit, the resemblance _was_ striking. Other than the pointed ears and tail, the woman in the picture could pass for human anywhere on Earth. On the flipside, Ellen learned that Ratchet was a lombax and not a 'space moggy' as her subconscious had previously insisted, something even Clank found amusing.

Once their food arrived, everyone dug in with gusto. Ellen couldn't say she was the biggest fan of sea food, but the psytopus meat was surprisingly tender, if a little rubbery for what looked like chunks of squid. The naxa juice on the other hand was an eclectic mix of pineapple and blueberries, with a hint of something spicy that tasted wonderful. Either way, she was thoroughly enjoying her first taste of alien cuisine in the company of friends.

As the meal went on, the trio exchanged small talk and learned a little more about each other. Ellen was surprised to learn that Clank was actually less than a day old since he was knowledgeable about so much, though considering his naivety when it came to non-academic matters it made sense. Ratchet shared her interest of the stars and the exploration of space, though he had her outstripped when it came to mechanical knowledge due to him being a _rocket mechanic _of all things.

Once everyone had finished and the meal was paid for, Clank decided to find a public Holo Net terminal in order to glean any information on the blarg and find out the location of Al's Robo Shack, excusing himself for the time being. Finally having Ellen to himself, Ratchet suggested they take a stroll along the Riviera while they waited, to which she happily agreed.

The waterfront was lined with businesses, curio shops, and a pawn brokers run by an elderly novalian man who could out squint Clint Eastwood. As it turned out, Ellen's analogue watch was worth quite a bit to the right collector due to it's 'antique technology', so she happily sold it in exchange for an older model of Wrist Com and a few hundred bolts which were promptly transferred to the device once it had been set up and re-registered in her name. Continuing their walk, they soon found themselves leaving the riverside and inside a fenced in public park occupied by families and pet owners enjoying what was shaping up to be a beautifully sunny day.

In his mind, Ratchet could picture them walking hand in hand just as other couples do; exchanging light hearted banter and knowing looks while simply basking in each others company. Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case, since he'd yet to pluck up the courage to ask her out, and then there was this Simon character that Ellen had mentioned. If he wanted to be with her, the lombax needed to subtly find out about his rival for her affections, and find a way to best him.

"Ratchet?"

"Hm?" Ratchet broke from his reverie to focus on the girl that occupied his thoughts.

"I know you've done so much for me already, but I was wondering... could you help teach me to fight like you do"

"You want _me_ to teach you how to fight?"

"Before today, the worst fight I've ever been in was a scrap with some stupid little tart whose tits were bigger than her brain. Ever since I met you, I've almost been shot, burned, and maimed more times than I'd hope for one lifetime, and I get the feeling that it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better"

Ratchet felt a twinge of guilt seeing as he was the one to put her in those situations, accidentally or not. The lombax resolved to aid her the best he could. He'd never forgive himself if he lost her, especially if he could do something to prevent it from happening.

"Sure, why not. Can't have my partner lagging behind now, can we?"

Ratchet grinned as she rose to the bait, scowling at him and muttering several colourful curses under her breath as they traipsed to a more secluded section of the park. Finally finding a space clear of people and any potential obstacles, Ratchet had Ellen draw her newly acquired Blaster and practice firing to get a feel for the weapon.

"Don't you think we'll get in trouble for firing a _gun_ in a public park?"

"Nah" He shook his head. "Gadgetron never sell their weapons with live ammo, you usually have to buy it separate. I'm betting that thing's either empty or full of blanks. Besides, no one'll hear it out here anyway"

Being used to the Hollywood interpretation of firearms, Ellen was unprepared for the relatively subdued report from the muzzle, or the recoil causing her to stagger back in to the quickly reacting lombax's arms.

"You alright?"

"yeah... I kind of wasn't expecting that" She admitted.

"I take it you've never fired a gun before?"

"How could you tell?"

"Well other than nearly falling on your can, your stance is all wrong" She snorted at that, but he ploughed on regardless. "I could probably fire it one handed, but for you, let's try something a little different" So saying, he moulded his body to Ellen's as he gently pushed her legs further apart with his own; one sliding forward while she shifted more weight on to the other. "Your centre of gravity's way too high when you shoot. If you widen your stance, it'll make you more stable and better able to react to any threats"

Ellen's heart rate quickened at the contact but other wise remained complacent. She trusted Ratchet, and even though this felt a little..._intimate_...she knew that he was trying to help her rather than trying something _else_. Ratchet on the other hand was busy trying to contain himself with her body pressed up against his. He'd _never_ been this close to a girl _ever_, her heart beating a tempo through her back that almost matched his own as he reached forward to reposition her arms while trying to make sure he didn't do anything stupid to jeopardise the trust she'd placed in him.

"Try bending your shooting arm a little instead of holding it straight. _That's_ it. Now, use your other hand to support underneath the butt" He was pressed firmly against her back now, his arms encompassing her own as she felt his soft fur warm her. She was glad he couldn't see the light flush that decorated her cheeks as he peeked around her shoulder.

"Alright, let's give it a try"

With his fingers clasped atop her own, she idly wondered what they felt like underneath the gloves just as they stroked the trigger together. Though the weapon still bucked up with the shot, it was nowhere near as bad, and best of all she was still standing. "There, you see? better already" She could let the hint of smugness in his voice slide as they repeated the action several times before the lombax released his hold and let her continue on her own.

She found herself a little confused as he withdrew; on one hand she was relieved to get some space to breath, but part of her missed the contact, the air somehow feeling a little colder without his presence. As she expended the training ammo, Ellen quickly fell in to a rhythm. Alternating between controlled bursts and single shots, she found herself to be consistently accurate at ranges under 30 metres, though not much beyond that point.

All too soon, the weapon ran dry, and Ratchet suggested moving on to her new Versa Blade. Now _this_ was something she had a little experience in, thanks to a phase a few years back when she accidentally caught parts of an episode of Naruto on YouTube.

For days afterwards she'd borrow cutlery from the kitchen and spend hours being a 'badass ninja' in the back garden. Simon caught her acting like a complete prat when he was home one day on leave and, after he'd managed to stop laughing, he offered to teach his sister a little blade craft, if only so she didn't injure herself accidentally. As a result of that session and several others later, she was fairly versed in using a knife in close quarters battle. It was for this reason that she held herself with some confidence when the lombax suggested a sparring session with their weapons of choice.

"Alright, let's see what you've got"

Ratchet paused for a second as the girl dropped in to a combat stance with her knife held in a reverse grip at the ready while her free hand hovered in front with an open palm held parallel. He grinned as he held his wrench at his side. This might be interesting after all. For several heartbeats neither moved, then at some unseen signal they dashed head on at each other.

Ratchet swept his wrench in a horizontal arc that forced the human to duck and roll aside to avoid a follow up attack. Feinting to the right, she sprung left; her blade coming up in a diagonal slash before reversing direction in to what would have been the jugular had it connected. Back flipping away to gain some distance, Ratchet was forced to quickly re-evaluate his opponent as she continued to press the offensive.

Letting her get close, he winged her with his wrench as he jumped over her head and set himself up for a ranged attack. Since it was only a spar, Ratchet's hit had been fairly light leaving Ellen slightly bruised and winded. If it had been an actual fight, it would have crushed her ribcage; a sobering thought as she spun low to face the lombax only to have her legs taken out from under her by a flying wrench. Seeing her go down with a cry, Ratchet's heart leapt in to his throat as he ran forward to help.

_'Oh crap! What did I do?! If she's hurt...'_

Reaching her side, he stooped down to support her as his mind ran a mile a minute. "Ellen! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" He was cut off as she suddenly leapt up, grabbing his shoulder and forcing the surprised lombax on to his back. Straddling him, she pinned his arms with her knees as she held the blade inches from his face.

"I win"

She laughed at the flabbergasted look on his face, though she might not had she been privy to his thoughts.

_'Is it wrong to think that she looks kinda hot like this?'_

"You cheated!"

She shrugged with a parody of the lombax's smug smile. "All's fair in love and war"

"That so?"

She yelped as he used his superior upper body strength to push her off to one side while he rolled to pin her in turn. For the next quarter of an hour they grappled and mock wrestled as they tried to assert their 'dominance' over one another, laughing all the while. And so it was that a heavily panting human and an equally strained lombax lay side by side on the soft grass, looking up at the cloudless sky while trying to catch their breath.

"You know, you're pretty good for a girl"

"What's that supposed to mean? And where did you learn to fight like that?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Here and there. Veldin can be a dangerous place to grow up, y'know. What about you?"

She smiled sadly. "Someone who meant a lot to me"

Ratchet could read between the lines and decided not to push any further. With an impish smile on his face, he decided to change the subject.

"Wanna go for round two?"

Her peal of laughter was like music to his ears as she turned on her side to face him, inadvertently bringing them closer together.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to move for a week. I'm shattered!"

He chuckled as he turned his head to meet her gaze. "Well, wouldn't want to wear you out just yet. We still gotta find Qwark and stop Drek"

For a long moment nothing was said between them as his expressive emerald eyes locked with the cool blue depths of her own. Sometimes you didn't need words, just the closeness and companionship of a special someone who doesn't judge, only listens. They simply lay like that for an indeterminate time before the spell was broken by the inevitable exchange of words in their little slice of seclusion.

"Ratchet, about what I said earlier. You'll help me find a way home, right? You and Clank I mean"

He felt torn.

He liked this girl like no other before; he wanted to be with her so badly, and yet... He sighed. He couldn't deny the hopeful expression on her face. No matter how much he might love her, she had something to go back to once this was over, unlike himself. He wouldn't force her to choose between him and her old life, but that didn't mean he couldn't make the most of what time they had together. Who knows, maybe there was a way they could do both. He took her hand as he firmly held her gaze, his voice full of conviction.

"I will. I promise"

She softly squeezed his hand, a gentle smile on her lips as she laid her head to rest on his shoulder.

"Thank you"

Her eyes closed and his heart fluttered in his chest at her words. He didn't know how long he had with her, but he was determined to make the most of it while he still could. From what little she'd told him and Clank about her life earlier on, Ratchet guessed that she had recently had trouble prior to ending up in his care; The evasiveness, the tell tale signs were there, but he'd decided not to pry. Ellen deserved a little happiness in her life, and he was determined to provide it.

Flickering his eyes to her once again, he found that she had drifted off to sleep. Her chest rose and fell gently as she snuggled unconsciously into his fur, her fingers still entwined with his own. He didn't have the heart to wake her.

Deciding to let her rest, he allowed his own eyes to close as the fatigue from the day's events caught up. A smile touched his lips as sleep finally claimed him.

He could get used to this.

* * *

**And there we are, fluffiness and little character building. The next chapter will be getting the story back on track in Metropolis, with perhaps a few small twists to compensate for Ellen's presence.**

**If anyone's interested in drawing a cover for this story, please let me know via PM or E-mail. Any submissions should be E-mailed as an attachment to the address below. All submissions will be fairly judged based upon how appropriate it is for the story, and the chosen cover will be fully credited on all present and future chapters.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Update 17/6/2014:**

**Right, sorry everyone. For some reason, the site won't let me put my e-mail address in the chapter, but it's fine on my profile. Weird. Anyway, contact details are now on my profile for future reference. Sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.**

******- RevenantReaper337**


	6. Chapter 6: False Leads & Flying Trains

**Author****'****s note:**

**I'm not sure how it happened, but not only did I manage to write the longest chapter for this story yet, but I also finished it even quicker than the last chapter. How? No idea. Either way, this is the second, even more extended part of the Metropolis arc of the story.**

**I'd still like to get a cover for this story. If anyone's interested in helping, drop me a line.**

**Review replies:**

**Guest (Who somehow was missed off the last review replies. Bad timing?) - Erm, thank you. I assume you're talking about the vendor?**

**Guest (Who did review for the last chapter, and quite possibly isn't the same reviewer) - Like I said before, I definitely plan to finish the first trilogy. You might have hit the nail on the head with Sasha, but you'll have to wait for the third story to see…**

**anonymous - To answer your points in order:**

**1) Thanks, I wasn't sure how it'd be received.**

**2) That won't be coming up for a little while, but I've already got the scene playing in my head. Things will get awkward.**

**3) Why, thank you.**

**4) I'm trying. It's difficult to balance a character, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.**

**destiny - Thank you. I don't want to spoil the ending, but suffice to say their relationship will have more than it's share of ups and downs.**

**RegonaDC21 - That's…actually a pretty cool job, though ironic when you think about it; GameStop preventing you from gaming. You'll just have to wait and see how Ratchet responds when he figures out the truth; things should get **_**very**_** interesting… Out of curiosity, what song did you have in mind? As for the movie, I'm not sure. I usually check independent reviews before watching anything on the big screen, but as long as Insomniac and the original voice cast are involved, yeah I probably would.**

**evil Ratchet96 - Aw, thanks. I didn't think it was **_**that**_** good.**

**(Yet another) Guest - You have a valid point, since Qwark is a bit of a dick anyway. Though Ellen is no damsel, but she's definitely stressed!**

**Pokecats649 - Ask and you shall receive, though probably not on the same scale for a little while.**

**BulletWitch1985 - Ah, nostalgia! Ratchet's helped her gain a bit more confidence with weapons, but a majority of her skills will have to be learned on the fly considering what's happening next. You're definitely right about Qwark and Ellen; let's just say there interactions will not end well…**

**Woo! New favourites and follows! Hello and thank you to NarukoJasmin126 and pokecats649 for adding this story to your favourites and following along with ExplosiveDiarrhea and clarinet rat, in addition to those who already follow and favourite. Thank you all once again.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**I think I might have lost my touch a little towards the end, but I really wanted to get this segment finished and get the plot underway again. Here's chapter 6.**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 6: **

**False Leads & Flying Trains**

**Metropolis, Kerwan**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**1:17pm local time**

Clank was worried. His internal chronometer suggested that it had been approximately 4.2 hours since he had last seen his organic companions, and there was still no sign of them. After searching and cross referencing databases, he had precisely triangulated the location of the robot repair shop they were searching for. After downloading the co-ordinates, he had attempted to page Ratchet's Wrist Com only to receive no answer. Fearing the worst, he had bombarded Ratchet with calls at regular 1.3 minute intervals while retracing his steps to the Riviera where he had seen his companions last.

What could they be doing? Why wouldn't Ratchet answer? Had agents of Drek gotten to them in his absence? Clank didn't know; a rare state of mind for one who usually had all the answers. Redoubling his efforts, Clank's sensors picked up a faint trace of residue from an unusual, but somehow familiar source of energy. For a moment he pondered, until segment of his memory banks provided a moment of clarity.

Once Ellen had explained how she came to be on Veldin during their meal at the restaurant, Clank scanned her biometric data and found an odd energy signature centred around her abdomen. Deducing that this must be left over traces from whatever reaction transported her so many light years to this galaxy, he had filed the data away for future reference in order to eventually help her find a way home. For now though, it would become his primary method of tracking his missing friends.

Sending out a faint pulse in the high end of the electromagnetic spectrum, his optics began to see a very faint trail that decayed less the more he followed it, indicating that he was getting closer to the source. Leaving the Riviera district, he followed the increasingly fresh residue deposits through the gates of a public park, meandering past swaying palms and finally ending up in a small clearing some 400 metres from the main entrance. Stopping at the source, he could see his organic companions lying motionless together on the ground. With no sign of attackers, Clank strained his servos to cover the distance between them as fast as possible; praying that the worst had not come to pass.

Reaching the lombax first, Clank's biometric scans could detect no signs of injury or other maladies such as illness or poison. If that was the case, why wasn't Ratchet functional? Why did he not respond to his calls? Why did Ellen appear to be in the same state? Using the calm logic inherent in any rightly thinking robotic life form, Clank skimmed terabytes of data regarding his inbuilt knowledge of organic life forms in the blink of an eye, his processor coming to a resounding conclusion.

"Oh my. They are...asleep?"

The gentle rise and fall of their chests combined with the lack of any evidence of foul play certainly suggested that was the case. Relief flooded his circuits along with a sense of puzzlement. Why were they sleeping out here in the middle of the day? Perhaps he would receive the answer once he managed to rouse them from their premature slumber.

{()}

Everything felt fuzzy and far too bright as Ratchet stirred in to consciousness, his eyes squinting against the harsh sun overhead as he tried to work out just what it was that persisted on shaking him from the most peaceful rest he'd had in ages.

"Ratchet, please wake up. This is no time to rest"

"Muh? Wha?" He groaned, a gloved hand rubbing his eyes as his vision swam in to focus on a silver metallic head and a pair of concerned glowing green optics inches from his face. "Clank? What're you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. I lost contact with you hours ago and came to investigate your absence, only to find you here"

Ratchet yawned involuntarily as he tried to stretch his arms over his head, only to find that he still held Ellen's hand with one of his own. Slowly extraditing himself, he bought both of them in to a sitting position before gently trying to rouse the sleeping girl. "Ellen? Ellen? Come on, time to wake up"

"Mmm... Five more minutes, mum"

He chuckled as his lips descended towards her ear, his breath tickling it and causing her to twitch in irritation. "I'm not your mom, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't let you sleep in during the day" Her eyes blinked open with dazed confusion as she lifted her head to see a pair of sparkling jade eyes resting above a gentle smirk looking down on her.

"Hey sleeping beauty, have a good rest?"

Her cheeks darkened slightly as she remembered the circumstances leading up to their impromptu nap together. It was so completely out of character for her to act that way with someone she barely knew, but she just felt so comfortable in his presence that it seemed so _right_ at the time. His fur was so warm and soft; his carefree manner and concern for her well being was endearing, and the conviction in his eyes...

_'No... I couldn't be, could I? He's a nice guy, but do I really think of him that way?'_

Before she could consider further, Clank broke her chain of thought. "If I might ask, why were you both sleeping out here during the day cycle? I thought organics only slept at night" Human and lombax exchanged a knowing look, neither wanting to really explain what exactly had transpired between them to the innocent looking minute machine.

"Well... Ratchet helped train me to fight better, and we were so tired afterwards that we...decided to take a nap"

"Yeah, what she said" Ratchet added before changing the subject. "So, did you manage to find what you were looking for?"

"Indeed. Although information on the blarg was sparse, I did manage to locate the repair shop that we saw in that Infobot commercial"

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go find our guy!"

Rising to their feet, Ratchet and Ellen dusted themselves off and stretched their legs before following their robot companion back out of the park and in to the Rivera district once again. Hailing a cab, Ratchet let Clank input the destination only to groan in realisation when he realised where they would be going.

"You mean we were virtually on top of it this whole time?"

"I am afraid so. Still, at least we should still be able to obtain information on the whereabouts of Captain Qwark"

Ellen spent the ride fiddling with her new Wrist Com and browsing on the Holo Net - this galaxy's equivalent of the internet. Researching via the inbuilt search engine (Gaggle? Really?) she managed to find out a little more about the alien species she had seen so far as well as fill in a few blanks in her knowledge.

The two most dominant species' of the Solana galaxy was the Cazares and the Novalians. The latter were the blue skinned humanoids with black spikes decorating their bodies that she had already encountered, such as the plumber, and made up a large proportion of the manual labour market. The politically minded cazares on the other hand were similar to lombaxes to a degree, only with fox-like features and courser typically brown fur. She was about to check what species Skid and his agent were before she realised they were coming in to land...at the circular platform near their ship where they had bought her new weapons. "Haven't we been here already?"

"Al's Robo Shack is located in the vicinity of our original landing zone" Clank prompted.

"So...we could have gone there in the first place?"

Ratchet sighed "Yeah, well, we didn't know at the time. Still, at least we can stock up on ammo while we've got a chance" So saying, the two stepped up to the vendor and pooled their bolts to buy as much ammunition as they could carry, not noticing one of their party go missing.

"Hey, Ratchet. Where's Clank?"

"Why he's right-" The lombax looked to the empty space he was indicating before whipping his head around to locate the minute machine with increasing concern. "Clank? Clank? Where are you?"

"There!"

He followed Ellen's pointing finger to the small silver robot disappearing in to the crowd near a large brass lined arch to their left. Not wasting time, Ratchet bounded after him with Ellen in hot pursuit, forcing their way through the clusters of people blocking their way.

"'Scuse me!"

"Sorry!"

"Coming through!"

Finally catching up to him, Ellen was about to ask Clank what the hell that was all about when she heard a somewhat distorted yet familiar voice. "Welcome to the Captain Qwark fitness course!"

_'Hang on, that's not Qwark...'_

In front of them was an animatronic effigy of Qwark that wouldn't look out of place at a theme park, complete with a speaker for a mouth and a giant spring connecting it's torso to the ground. Ellen found it to be marginal improvement over the real thing.

"If you're strong enough, fast enough and clever enough to beat my fitness challenge, you will receive a reward from my head trainer! Simply make your way to the third island to complete the course. _Good luck!_" And then it launched in to the rapid fire, barely decipherable verbal small print and disclaimer designed to cover executives collective asses no matter what language they spoke. "Qwark enterprises is not responsible for sprains, broken bones, snapped tendons, bruised egos or accidental death incurred while taking the challenge"

_'Course he's not'_

Seeming still not to have noticed his two companions beside him, Clank stepped closer to the automaton before attempting to petition it. "Excuse me captain, but we have more pressing issues. We urgently need your assistance"

"Clank?"

The diminutive machine turned to look back to find both Ratchet and Ellen flanking him, but didn't seem too surprised at their presence. "Ratchet, Ellen, Captain Qwark is here!" Ellen shifted uncomfortably while rubbing the back of her neck, not quite knowing how to let her metallic friend down gently. "Yeah, about that. Do you notice anything..._unusual_ about Captain Qwark?"

Clank did a reasonable impression of a confused kitten as he contemplated the now silent automaton in front of him. "Well, I find the fact that he has a spring where his legs should be to be quite puzzling" Before she could open her mouth to reply, Ratchet set a hand on Ellen's shoulder and gave her a look that said 'I got this'. Letting the lombax take over, she stood back to see how he handled it as he drew Clank's attention to himself. "And... _Why_ do you think that is?"

"Possibly an injury occurred while battling evil?"

Ratchet snorted with amusement. "This isn't the real Captain Qwark, you _numskull! _It's a robot!"

"Oh..."

Seeing her small friend so crestfallen, Ellen strode forward to comfort him while shooting a disapproving look at the lombax. "It's alright Clank. We all make mistakes. _Don't_ we, Ratchet?"

"Uh...yeah, sure..." Not wanting to risk her ire, he coughed before clapping his hands together. "Right, this shouldn't be too hard"

Things didn't seem so tough as they scrambled up the initial artificially placed rock platforms, at least until they were level with a sheer cliff face with a pair of parallel facing stamped metal walls in front of them. Ellen threw her hands up. "Great, how are we supposed to get up there?" Ratchet only grinned in anticipation. "Easy. Watch this!"

Taking a run up at one of the walls, the lombax leapt in to the air with appropriately cat like grace, bunching his muscles for a half a heartbeat as his legs made contact before bouncing off to the opposite wall. Repeating the process he was soon at the top looking down over the edge, a grin on his face at her gawping expression. "Alright, your turn!"

"How the- You can't seriously expect me to do that!"

He shrugged. "Won't know until you try"

With a huff, she backtracked as far as she dared without falling off the edge of the platform before running full belt at the metal wall. Attempting to imitate the lombax, Ellen did a surprisingly good job with the first bounce, even if it did jar her knees. Unfortunately, this off set her for the relay, resulting in her skidding on the surface as her boots scrabbled to find purchase. Just as she was about to fall, she felt a strong grip around her wrist and looked up to see Ratchet leaning over the edge while he strained to pull her up.

"I gotcha"

As she managed to get a leg over the top of the platform, Ellen managed to pull herself up the rest of the way before collapsing on her back while panting heavily. "Thanks for the save" He gave her a small grin as he pulled her to her feet for what must have been the umpteenth time that day. "Heh, wasn't like I was gonna leave you hanging" She groaned at his weak attempt at humour before following him on the path around the tower to yet another pair of parallel metal walls set in to the cliff face, this time with a twenty foot climb to the top.

"Sod this..."

There was no way she was going to try that again. A fall from that height would be fatal, and there was no guarantee that Ratchet could save her hide again if she did. No, she'd find her own way up.

"Uh, Ellen? What're you doing?"

"Just watch"

Drawing her Versa Blade, Ellen thumbed the button on the guard and thrust it at the craggy cliff face in front of her. To her delight, the blade went through the rock like a hot knife through butter. But more importantly, it gave her a hand hold as she hauled herself up and began to scale the wall while using the knife as an anchor.

Ratchet stood worried at the bottom of the cliff as he watched her inch closer to the top, but couldn't help but admire the way her muscles expanded and contracted as she pushed off from each hand hold. She might not be as agile as him, but she was definitely fit if her shapely thighs were anything to- He shook his head to dislodge that train of thought. Now wasn't the time.

"I made it! Your turn!"

Seeing her waving from the top of the artificial tower, he quickly ricocheted between the walls, making it to Ellen's level in a fraction of the time it had taken her to climb.

"Show off"

He grinned nonchalantly before turning to the zip line leading to the second island, only to pause when he heard the gasp beside him. Ellen was looking over the edge of the tower with a sense of building dread.

"I can't do it"

Ratchet blinked as he took in her mask of fear. "Do what? What's wrong?"

One of the things she hadn't told Ratchet or clank was her fear of heights, and the fact that there was nothing between the zip line and the planet surface God knows how far below only added to her mounting terror as she was forced to reveal one of her weaknesses in the hope that she wouldn't be ridiculed.

"Ratchet...I'm afraid of heights..."

"But you climbed a twenty foot wall without any safety lines!"

"That's different"

"How is it any different?!"

"I had solid ground in reach then, but with this..."

"Ah..."

He was temporarily at a loss for what to do, until suddenly an idea crept in to his mind. He could only hope that she would trust him as he pulled her close.

"Hey! What're you doing?!"

"Ellen, I can get us across but you're gonna have to trust me"

She looked in to his eyes, trying to see any sign of deceit, only to find none. Swallowing, she nodded with a shuddering breath before hugging him tightly as he threw them off the edge, using his wrench to slide down the zip line.

At that given moment, anyone within a two block radius would have heard a high pitched scream of terror during the five seconds it took to get to the second island. To Ratchet it was damn near deafening, his sensitive ears ringing while his ribs ached from the vice like grip Ellen had on him, her legs wrapped around his waist. Much as he liked having her close by, he was starting to turn blue from the lack of breath.

"Ellen...can't breathe!"

"Are we safe?"

"Yes!"

"Oh thank God!"

She released him, dropping to her knees and breathing heavily with Ratchet following suit; one out of relief, the other starved of oxygen. Collecting herself, Ellen tilted her head to look up at the lombax with a flustered look. "Sorry Ratchet. Didn't mean to hold you that tight. Me and heights just don't mix"

"S'alright. Just...don't scream in my ear again, I think you burst an eardrum"

"Well, at least we don't have to do that again anytime soon"

...

"Ellen, you do realise there's another zip line to the third island, right?"

...

"Shit"

She _really_ wasn't looking forward to the second tower, which was quickly turning in to an episode of Wipeout on steroids. Moving platforms, disappearing footholds, more of those parkour walls which _brilliantly_ also moved occasionally.

Seriously? Who actually thought this was a good idea?

The second zip line wasn't quite so bad since she knew it was coming, but Ellen still had to clench her jaw shut to avoid screaming her lungs out again. Landing on the platform at the end, they quickly spotted what had to be Qwark's trainer performing jumping jacks; only they weren't exactly what any of the three had in mind for someone associated with fitness as a profession.

"Listen up, you lard balls! That was the most _pathetic_ display I have ever _seen_ on that obstacle course!"

Stood in front of them was a large, vaguely feminine robot wearing blue sweatpants and a sleeveless black tee, with sculpted pigtails for 'hair', and a stereotypical German accent so thick you could use it to cut bratwurst. Ratchet cocked a brow. "Whadaya mean?" Clank nodded. "We finished the circuit, ma'am"

"Oh ja, but it was veak, veak, VEAK! Vhen I vos competing I would _devour_ courses like that for breakfast!"

"Bet that's not all" Ratchet muttered, to which Ellen wholeheartedly agreed, considering the robot looked like she had swallowed a wrecking ball whole.

"If it were up to me, you would drill, drill, _drill _for_ the rest of the day! _But, somehow you managed to impress that fool Captain Qwark!"

"Captain Qwark knows about us?" Clank asked in surprise. "How could he? We've never met" Ellen mused aloud. "Vell, he most certainly does" The trainer retorted. "And vorst of all, he wants me to give you a prize for that _ridiculous_ performance!"

"Cool, what is it?"

"I'm supposed to give you a Svingshot, so you can svay to and fro like little insects!"

"Great. So, if we can take it off your hands, maybe we can finally get going" Ellen was frankly starting to get fed up the stuck up bitch, but decided stay her rapidly flaring temper for her friends sakes. After all the crap they went through to get here, that prize better be worth it.

"Not so fast! Today the three of you _disgraced_ my obstacle course, so I am going to make you pay!"

"But that prize is ours from the Captain" Clank protested. "That's not fair" The metal woman merely tsked before shrugging "Too bad, life's not fair" Ellen growled lowly in her throat while Ratchet begrudgingly paid for the gadget that was rightly theirs.

_'Miserable bitch, I wonder how fast she'd move with my blade shoved up her-'_

"Sweet! I bet Captain Qwark uses stuff like this all the time"

Ellen blinked, turning her attention back to her surroundings in time to see Ratchet wielding an oversized silver device with a grappling hook protruding from the end and the plus sized trainer making her way to a nearby air cab. "Ha! _Real_ men can sving without silly toys like that!" Turning to face them as she punched in her destination, the trainer leered at them for one last time. "The two of you make me sick!"

Ellen simply flipped her off.

...

"Hang on, where's mine?"

With a pig like snort from the German accented robot, the taxi departed in to the bustling traffic of the city, leaving two organics and a robot alone on the island with only one way back down.

After playing around with the device, Ratchet managed to quickly get the hang of the Swingshot; using it on the nearby floating Versa-Targets to swing between the raised platforms up to the final zip line. Unfortunately, Ellen had no choice but to cling to Ratchet again, which made each swing harder as he tried to compensate for the extra weight. She simply closed her eyes tight and held on tighter as they sped down the zip line towards the first island again.

Regaining her composure once she calmed herself down, Ellen walked alongside Ratchet past the Qwark bot and back through the arch, only to notice something was a little off.

"Guys, where did everybody go?"

The area was completely deserted. The once teeming crowds now vanished from the pedestrian walkways, with the only sound being the distant traffic. The atmosphere felt oppressive to Ellen, alarm bells ringing in her head as she stepped a little closer to Ratchet who now had his bomb glove equipped while his eyes swept the area.

"Alright. When I say, slowly make your way over the bridge past the vendor and back to the ship. I don't know what's going on, but-"

Their plan was suddenly interrupted by a rocket screaming over their heads, demolishing the archway and sending them sprawling.

"There they are! Take 'em out"

Struggling back to their feet in a daze, the guttural shout followed by the sound of multiple boots hitting the paved walkways kicked Ratchet's instincts in to gear as he grabbed Ellen around the waist and practically threw her behind a cluster of debris in time to avoid another rocket exploding where they previously stood.

"What the hell was that?!" Ellen yelled. "I think it's some of Drek's guys! They must be here to take out that guy from the Infobot" Ratchet yelled back, his ears still ringing from the nearby explosion. "Actually, I believe they are here to terminate us" Clank cut in. Ellen shook her head. "Doesn't matter. We need to get past them if we're going to live long enough to argue about it"

Squeezing his hand in to a fist to dispense a bomb, ratchet gave a nod of affirmation. "Alright, you ready for this?" Ellen drew her Blaster before swallowing to calm her nerves, giving a slight nod as she mentally tried to psyche herself up for the coming fight.

Not saying another word, Ratchet span round his cover, slinging his bomb on a flat trajectory towards the direction of their rocket launching foe. Close on his heels, Ellen kept her machine pistol up and level in the two handed grip Ratchet had shown her as they got a good look at their enemy stood in the next archway along; a blarg.

He was huge, for want of a better term; almost eight feet tall by her estimate, and rippling with thick muscles under the silver and black trim combat suit. Black fingerless gloves adorned his hands, a high tech pack on his back with an antennae protruding out, and a stupidly big gun that would dwarf Ratchet held in one hand while the other pointed a meaty digit at them.

"Get 'em!"

With the sound of synthesised barking, a pair of chunky silver metal dogs with wide flat heads came bounding around the corner of the arch and straight at them with jaws snapping. Without hesitation, Ellen sighted on the closest dog and let off a burst before quickly targeting the other one. Ratchet meanwhile was already moving between the sparking corpses and closing on the more dangerous blarg. The lombax's head snapped to one side to avoid the rocket the reddish purple skinned alien's gun spat at him before slinging a pair of bombs that hit dead centre in the chest and literally blew him away.

Turning the corner, they crossed a suspended walkway guarded by another blarg heavy and robot dog combo leading to a tree lined islet bordering a tower block. No sooner did they reach the other side than they found another blarg siccing a pack of the metal mutts on them. Switching to his Pyrocitor, Ratchet found the flame spewing weapon to be surprisingly effective against the robotic canines as he swept his weapon back and forth over the charging pack.

While Ratchet kept the dogs busy, Ellen was already moving past the trees to target the blarg, only to have to duck and roll to avoid a rocket to the face. Pushing herself up, she caught a glimpse of the bulky alien retreating over the bridge to the next area. Firing an uncoordinated burst which went wide, she took off in pursuit with Ratchet alongside, only to skid to a halt at the sound of cloth whipping in the wind.

From their right, a small single seat open cockpit helicopter swooped in to hover over the bridge, its machineguns chattering as it hosed their position with fire. Scattering, Ratchet back flipped away from the stream of death, tossing a bomb which missed the chopper, but forced the pilot to swerve away.

Taking her chance, Ellen planted herself firmly and aimed down the sights of her Blaster as she poured round after round of fire in to the now vulnerable helo. Several bullets must have struck something vital, because the flying machine began to spiral out of control, coughing black smoke as the blarg pilot desperately fought to level out, only for it to shatter on impact with the building opposite the bridge.

The fleeing blarg awaited them on the other side, but seemed to have bought friends in the form of another blarg and his attack dogs. Not giving them a chance, Ratchet and Ellen bracketed the group with bombs and cleared them out before taking the escalator down a level. More dogs awaited them in the shadow of a bronze spaceship statue along with a new type of robot. After dropping the dogs, Ellen moved to engage the fleeing robot only to be suddenly grabbed by Ratchet.

"Wha? What're you-"

"Ellen, look"

Her face paled at what her foot was inches from stepping on; Mines. This robot seemed to lay them sporadically in clusters, but thankfully none of them seemed to be of the proximity variety. Gingerly stepping around the explosives, they quickly found the mine layer dropping off a fresh batch, only to be taken down by a thrown bomb in turn. Ahead of them on the next criss-crossing walkway, Ratchet and Ellen could see a pair of the blarg heavies attempting to break into a shop with an effigy of a rotating robot holding a spanner aloft mounted on top.

"Hey Ratchet, isn't that the place we saw in that Infobot advert?"

"Looks like it. See? I told you they were trying to shut the guy up!"

The lombax's raised voice seemed to have attracted attention, as a pair of rockets blew chunks out of the stairway they stood atop. With nowhere to hide, Ellen drilled the first blarg with an extended burst from her Blaster, while Ratchet decided to get up close with his wrench.

After knocking the blarg senseless, the trio managed to override the shutter door thanks to Clank's mastery of electronic systems and cautiously entered the seemingly abandoned shop. Piles of junk, gears, and springs lay clustered against a wall as well as stacked haphazardly on several shelves, along with a robot leg that looked like it belonged to a Gundam and a couple of tyres for some reason.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

A rustling of movement from behind the counter had Ellen spinning to face it with her Blaster levelled, Ratchet beside her with his wrench held high.

"Gah! Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!"

A tuft of ginger hair atop a bespectacled butter yellow face protruded from behind the counter along with a pair of shaking hands. "Sorry" Ellen apologised while holstering her weapon, her free hand held up placidly. "Thought you were someone else"

"Y-you're not one of them?" The shopkeeper sagged in relief before drawing a sharp intake of breath, as if suddenly remembering something. "Quick! Close the door! Before anymore of those blarg show up!" Complying, Clank restored the shutter to its previous state, which promptly shorted out, before rejoining his companions. "So, what were you doing hiding under the counter?" Ratchet asked.

"Ratchet, this is the man we saw on the Infobot. Remember? He knows Captain Qwark!" Clank reminded him.

"Hey, you're that robot guy, right?" Seeming to have regained his composure now he wasn't in imminent danger, Al adjusted his glasses before responding in a not-quite patronising way. "No, actually, I _build_ robots. I, myself, am not a 'robot guy' per se, heheheheh..." Ratchet leaned over to stage whisper in Ellen's ear. "Nerd" She shrugged. "Seems alright to me" Clank responded in kind "I like him"

"So, now that we've cleared that up, what can I do for you?" The portly shopkeeper asked while leaning on his counter.

"Well, we saw your Infobot announcement. You were with Captain Qwark. We're trying to find Captain Qwark. We thought you could help us" Trust Clank to get to the heart of the matter, unfortunately the forthcoming answer wasn't what they hoped for. "Your logic is commendable, however I haven't seen Captain Qwark since we shot that commercial" Adopting a thoughtful look, Al lowered the magnifier that seemed to be a permanent feature on his head to his eye before leaning over to better inspect Clank.

"Say...do you run on standard XP-18 sisterboards?"

Clank raised a metallic digit before responding. "Version 7.66" The shopkeeper grinned. "Back at ya! I may be able to help you out after all. How does a Helipack upgrade sound?"

"Upgrade?" Ratchet questioned. "Natch. Since he's a seven-six-six, I could have the little guy up and flying in no time! Of course, I'll just need my fee...for service" Ellen looked thoughtfully at her Wrist Com before deciding it was time she started paying the duo back.

"How much?"

With a good chunk of her money gone, Al lifted up a waiting Clank on to the counter. "Okay, this won't hurt a bit" The minute machine seemed to be having second thoughts though at the sight of the various power tools behind the shop counter.

"Hey, wait!"

Within a few seconds, all Ratchet and Ellen could hear was drilling and what sounded like an angle grinder while Al's bulkier frame blocked their view of their friend. As quick as he'd started, Al was done. Turning around, he placed Clank on the counter top where a set of helicopter blades sprouted from the top of his head and his arm sockets. "Ratchet, am I cool now?" The lombax couldn't resist a chuckle. "Yeah, you da man, Clank"

"You're welcome!"

Having thought about how quickly Al had upgraded Clank, Ellen leaned forward on the counter to catch the butter yellow alien's attention. "Can I help you, miss?" She smiled disarmingly. "I hope so. Do you sell anything like a Swingshot, or if not could you make up something similar?"

"I mostly deal in robots and consumer electronics, but I have been known to dabble in gadgets from time to time. What did you have in mind?"

Between them, they managed to thrash out the details of a device that would fulfil the role of a Swingshot without being limited to being used on Versa-Targets. The result was cobbled together from various odds and ends Al had in store and resembled a bulky pistol with a grappling hook protruding from the barrel; the attached line coiled up on a motorised spool at the gadgets aft.

For payment, Ellen allowed Al to keep the patent on the device, but wanted a 10% commission fee on any future sales. Shaking hands on the deal, Ellen was happy that she had secured a small source of income for the foreseeable future, though they still needed to get back to their ship and the front entrance no longer worked.

"I don't suppose you have a back door by any chance?"

It turns out he did, filled as it was with vast shipping crates full of various parts for building robots. For now though, it was their ticket out of there. Waving goodbye to Al, who promptly locked himself back in his shop, Ratchet got a chance to try out Clank's new upgrade.

Crouching next to a stack of crates, the lombax's powerful leg muscles propelled him vertically with Clank triggering his new ability at the apex to further increase their potential altitude. Easily landing atop the haphazardly stacked containers, he sprinted forward before leaping off the edge with Clank's assistance to a small service walkway beyond Al's little compound.

Ellen meanwhile got a chance to see if her idea really had merit. Aligning the rudimentary sight on the newly dubbed Grappling Gun, she fired at the pillar next to the service elevator near where Ratchet waited. With a resounding pop of escaping air, the metal hook sailed through the air before impacting a few feet from where she aimed.

Undeterred, she felt the line go tense as the hook bit in to the decorative pillar before giving it an experimental tug. Confident it would hold, she squeezed the trigger again to begin the process of winding the cable in, only to yelp in surprise as it nearly took her off her feet. It almost felt like someone had pulled her arm out of her socket as the Grapple Gun rapidly pulled her up the vertical surface, but she couldn't deny its effectiveness. Managing to dislodge the hook with a little help from Ratchet, she realised there might be a few kinks to work out, but at least she could now keep up with energetic lombax.

Riding the service lift, Ellen groaned upon reaching the top.

"What is it with these people and _heights?_"

The only way forward involved leaping off the raised platform to the adjacent rooftop below; a feat only accomplished with Ratchet using the Helipack to slow their descent while unceremoniously gripping under Ellen's armpits and across her chest. Dangling with a mixture of fear and annoyance, Ellen selected her Bomb Glove as a trio of blarg soldiers greeted them with raised weapons. Still in mid air, she used her limited movement to toss a few bombs in their direction, forcing them to scatter.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Ratchet released his hold and rolled to one side to avoid the inevitable rocket fire. Springing left, he used his Pyrocitor to ignite a blarg that was targeting Ellen before finishing him off with his wrench. Ellen meanwhile had caught one blarg off guard with an underhand bomb toss, sending him flailing off the edge of the building. The other bore down on her, intent on striking her with his weapon. Missing the attack by the skin of her teeth, she stumbled on to her back before holding down the trigger of her Blaster.

A sudden realisation made her feel sick as she watched the light fade from the blarg's eyes. She had never killed anyone before, and here she was ending someone's life without batting an eyelid. Sure she had blown up robots and wild animals, but it was easy to dismiss them as unthinking, unfeeling creatures, even if Clank proved otherwise. But these blarg seemed a little closer to home. They had thoughts, feelings and desires just like any human being, and she had just cut that life short.

She didn't regret killing him as such; the adrenaline and sense of self preservation had kept her alive and sane thus far. But to be so desensitised to violence... She shook off her melancholy, filing it away for later when her life wasn't in danger. At the end of the day it was a case of 'us or them' and she knew that it wouldn't be the last life she would need to take if they hoped to stop Drek's mad scheme.

With dampened spirits, she joined her lombax and robot friends on another service elevator that took them to an observation deck close to the main transit hub. A pack of guard dogs greeted them along with a mine layer which was soon scrapped along with the field generator that spawned them. The panoramic view of the city was mostly lost on the still thoughtful human as she crossed the narrow bridge alongside Ratchet to the train station.

At the top of the escalator, more blarg soldiers and robot dogs greeted them, turning the platform in to a kill zone as both sides used the piles of shipping crates and luggage as cover while they traded fire. Rockets blew apart baggage carts, and were responded to in kind as Ratchet and Ellen leapfrogged from cover to cover; one laying down suppressing fire with Blaster and bomb while the other moved up. Using these tactics, the duo quickly managed to flush the enemy out and overwhelm the numerically superior force, leaving them tired but victorious.

The sound of a whistle drew their attention to the sky train slowly starting to move out of the station, and more importantly another Infobot hovering over one of the flatbed cars. Pushing their leg muscles as hard as possible, they barely manage to land on the last car as it pulled out of the station. Peeking around a crate, Ellen realised that the train was full of those same crates that Ratchet had smashed on Novalis, and being guarded by a squad of those heavily armed blarg soldiers.

_'Looks like Drek is cleaning house here, too'_

With nowhere to hide, stealth was clearly not an option as they gingerly advanced from car to car, nothing but a few feet of metal and an anti-gravity drive engine preventing them from plummeting miles to their deaths. No pressure.

It wasn't until they got to the third car that they were spotted, a rocket blowing away a stack of crates and almost sending Ellen over the edge had it not been for Ratchet's quick reactions. Steadying herself, she let off a burst from her machine pistol only to see her bullets arc to the left as the train meandered around an apartment block. Cursing herself, she aimed ahead of her target to compensate for the centrifugal force caused by the locomotive while Ratchet sprung to the next carriage to engage up close.

Much like the station, bullets, bombs, and high explosive rockets were traded back and forth with no margin for error as the human and lombax carefully made their way to the front. The remaining blarg made a last stand at the engines cab before falling to a pair of thrown bombs, the Infobot he was guarding being snatched before it could fall off the edge.

Unfortunately, something vital must have been hit during the battle, because the old style flying locomotive ruptured with a string of explosions. Fiery blasts rent the boiler, causing the whole train to begin to dip as it rapidly began to lose power.

Ratchet's mind ran a mile a minute. They were approaching the next station, but at their current speed they'd never make it in time before the whole train dropped like a lead weight. It was then that something clicked inside his head as he got an idea that was so ludicrous, it might actually work.

"Clank, you still got my hoverboard?"

"Yes, but I do not see-"

"Don't argue with me, just give it here!"

Powering up Skid's gift, Ratchet pulled Ellen aboard before pushing off for the rear of the train. Their combined weight and the narrow board made things awkward, but the lombax knew he had no other choice if they wanted to survive.

"You do have a plan, right?" Ellen asked with fear tinged in her voice. "If ever there was a time I needed you to trust me, it's now. Just hold on, no matter what".

They were close now, less than fifty feet away when the engine finally gave up the ghost. With a final detonation the train pitched into a dive, trailing smoke and the attached carriages as it rapidly gained momentum. It was this same increase in speed and angle that catapulted the board riding trio through the air towards the empty station platform, Clank assisting with his propeller blades. The board kissed the edge of the platform, sending the occupants sprawling; bruised, but thankful at their narrow escape.

Ellen rolled on to her stomach, her heart pounding in her mouth. That was simultaneously the most frightening and exhilarating thing she had ever experienced. Pushing herself up, she wondered if these narrow escapes were going to become a regular occurrence as she observed her lombax and robot friends climb unsteadily to their feet.

"That was awesome! Did you see that jump? I told ya to trust me!" Ratchet crowed. "I must concede, I did not expect you to use a locomotive as a giant lever. Your knowledge of the laws of physics saved our lives" Clank acceded with a hint of respect. "Uh, yeah, that was totally what I was doing" The lombax bluffed. Ellen was just praying that she didn't have to jump off anything else today, when she spotted the Infobot they had found on the train lying dazed on the platform. "Ratchet? Clank?" Gathering around, the bobbing machine extended its head and began to play its message.

"Greetings, Executive Chairman Drek!" A large robot with red optics chomping on a metallic cigar saluted the camera. In the background a leafy green forest with massive trees could be seen, interspersed with cyan robots armed with axes, attempting to chop them down. "Dispense with the pleasantries, Lieutenant" That was definitely Drek's voice and face, even if it was in monochrome for some reason. Maybe this was a communications intercept, but why store it on an Infobot? "My sources tell me you're behind schedule. You must prepare this planet to be harvested for our new world"

The robot Lieutenant clenched a fist to his chest "Yes sir. As you can see, everything is moving along, as planned" In the background, one of the cyan robots accidentally sliced another in half with its axe. "I'm counting on you, Lieutenant. And as your former commander can tell you, I _don't_ take disappointment well" The mechanical soldier bowed his head in acknowledgment. "Yes sir! I won't fail!"

With the message over, the Infobot went in to Clank's storage space, a worried expression on his face. "Drek is destroying yet another planet"

"I guess we should be thankful that his lackeys aren't half as smart as he is" Ellen murmured. "Yeah, if that's the kind of help he's getting, I don't think we have anything to worry about" Ratchet smirked. "You should not underestimate Chairman Drek" Clank admonished. "He is quite dangerous. We must find Captain Qwark"

"Well, what leads to we have to go on?" Ellen asked.

There was silent contemplation for a few moments before Ratchet spoke up. "Look, that lieutenant doesn't seem so tough. Let's take him out ourselves" Clank held a pair of metal digits to his chin in thought "Hmm, perhaps we can persuade the lieutenant to tell us where Drek is" Ratchet merely grinned in anticipation "Ha-ha, now you're talkin'!"

Finding the station exit, the trio descended via elevator back to what passed as ground level, and conveniently close to their ship. Restocking on ammo once more at the vendor they soon made their way back to their ship, and with the new coordinates entered in to the navigation computer, they were on their way once again. Next stop: planet Eudora.

* * *

**I think I've been watching too many Bruckheimer movies recently. Well…added a little twist at the end there and gave Ellen a new toy to allow her to keep up with Ratchet. Let's face it, she can't just magically get all the same guns and gizmos that he has, though I will have to make compromises like this. The Grapple Gun is an interesting bridge between the Swingshot and the Helipack, but is inferior to both in some ways, meaning Ellen will still have to rely on Ratchet in places in order to progress.**

**Well, until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	7. Chapter 7: Trees & Troubles

**Author****'****s note:**

**1200 views? 1200 views?! I can't believe it, and yet here we are. Once again I'm updating earlier than expected, despite each chapter seeming to be bigger than the last. Funny how that works out.**

**I'd like to thank AustinGamer117 for his help on this chapter and dispelling my writers block. I had originally intended for a certain portion of the chapter (you'll know when you get there) to consist of a discussion between Clank and Ellen on humanity in depth, but ended up cutting and rewriting it for two reasons.**

**First, it severely affected pacing. Second, it was stale and boring as hell. Instead, I dramatically shortened it in order to pace better and the conversation to flow more naturally rather than sound like it came straight out of a textbook. Overall, I think this slimmer version works better, and allows the opportunity for Clank to ask more questions on humanity later on rther than just having a massive info dump.**

**If anyone****'****s interested in making a cover for this story, the offer's still open. Just PM me and let me know. Thank you.**

**Review replies:**

**Pokecats649 - Thanks again. Little by little, they will get closer. Unless something happens of course…**

**AustinGamer117 - (Tips hat) Thank you very much. Chapter 5 is actually the first of several interludes designed to build Ratchet and Ellen's relationship. As for Clank and Ellen, that's in this chapter, thanks once again to your assistance.**

**destiny - Glad you liked it. Hopefully this chapter will be to your liking as well.**

**anonymous - Heh. That was actually unintentional, as is this early release. Hope you enjoy it still.**

**Blair93 - And a hello to you too. I can't honestly answer your first question without giving a good chunk of plot away, but there will definitely be a sequel.**

**ReginaDC21 - Couldn't stop laughing at the mental image, truly priceless. Considering what's happening in this chapter, Ellen might get a trial by fire quicker than she expected, especially since things are going to go south very soon.**

**I actually reread Chapter 5 with the song in question playing in the background, and I couldn't help but realise several eerily close parallels between Ratchet and Ellen's little bout in the park and scenes from the Lion King. I swear Disney, I'm not plagarising you! Sorry you had a crappy day, major launches must be a grind. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it a little.**

**Hello and thank you to drmonicblood and Amberdiamondswords for adding this story to your favourites list along with RavenShichiyou who is also following. **

**I think you know the drill by now. I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**If you came for the explosions, you might feel a little disappointed since this chapter can get a little wordy. Otherwise, here****'****s chapter 7.**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 7: **

**Trees & Troubles**

**Logging Site, Eudora**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**11:23am local time**

According to Ellen's Holo Net searches, Eudora was supposed to be a nature reserve; home to dozens of rare and endangered species along with a minute population of indigenous tribes. Gazing down on the planet spanning forest as they came in to land, she was beginning to see why. A vibrant canopy of greens and golden reds almost blocked out the ground far below, sheer cliffs of chalk and limestone decorated with moss jutting up in places to break up the monotony. Ellen idly wondered weather she might glimpse Ewoks swinging through the trees when the courier ship's sudden deceleration bought her back to reality.

Their chosen landing zone was near a series of prefabricated bronzed yellow structures that had probably been assembled after being dropped from orbit, and overlooked a massive sawmill come factory on the summit of a distant peak. Dividing the two areas in half was a wide and steep gorge with a river meandering through it hundreds of feet below, while a maelstrom of giant butterflies and prop driven drones and cargo haulers criss-crossing the skies above. All in all, it was a Greenpeace activist's worst nightmare come true.

Drawing her attention back down to earth, Ellen reacted to the sound of metal on metal by drawing her Blaster and taking on a defensive stance; an action proven unnecessary since it was only Ratchet smashing his wrench in to a now down and twitching blue robot clutching a large axe.

Seeing the immediate area clear, Ellen jogged up to the lombax just as he hopped down the embankment to the level below; again choosing to run straight at one of the metal lumberjacks. This time the machine was ready, for what good it did. Ratchet easily jumped over the clumsy swipe and brought his own weapon down in a vertical strike that slammed the robot back in to the tree it had been attempting to cut down next to a open drawbridge. In the meantime, Ellen had been using her perch to take pot shots at the cluster of hovering robots with circular saws for arms that congregated down below on a worn path to her direct right.

With the immediate threat gone, Ratchet rejoined Ellen as they trekked behind their ship in an attempt to find access to the largest prefab building; logic suggesting that it would be the best place to find the robot Lieutenant. They soon found an obvious entrance atop a small incline bordered by a sheer drop in to the gorge on the right, but as they approached they realised it might be a bit more difficult task to open than they imagined.

"Well, we're not getting through that anytime soon"

The shutter protecting the doorway was so thick it looked like it could stop a volley from a battleship, which ruled out blowing it up, and then there was the security interface. The circular panel on the right side of the frame looked like it needed a key that was part torque wrench in order to open if the concentric inset grooves were anything to go by. According to the Gadgetron helpdesk app on their Wrist Com's, this was one of the companies Invinco-Lock security doors, and needed a device called a Trespasser in order to gain access.

"Somehow, I don't think we're gonna find one lying around here" Ratchet commented offhandedly while taking in the abundance of nature and distinct lack of civilisation nearby.

Ellen meanwhile was thoughtfully examining the device, trying to fathom alternatives, when something caught her eye. Using her knife to jimmy off an access panel, she stared in surprise at what sat among the myriad of wires and circuit boards.

_'Is that...a USB port?'_

Nestled in between a cluster of cables sat an innocuous looking little port that looked like it could take a USB cable. How or why it was here, she honestly didn't know, but she intended to take full advantage of it as ideas began to churn in her mind. "Clank, can I have my satchel back please? I think I might know a way to bypass this door"

Reaching in to his storage compartment, Clank came up with the requested item before holding it out to her. Upon opening the flap, Ellen began to rummage through her satchel, discarding several items before coming up with an old netbook and a USB transfer cable. "Knew this was in here somewhere"

"Ellen, what is that device?"

She grinned as the micro laptop powered on and started going through the boot up sequence. "It's something from my world; my old netbook, a portable computer. If I can get in to the source code, I should be able to override the lock's programming with this" Ratchet looked a little unconvinced. "Are you sure? That thing looks a little..."

"Primitive?" Clank offered.

"Well, yeah. I mean, considering the tech gap, your 'netbook' couldn't possibly-"

"I'm in"

To both the lombax and robot's surprise, Ellen's outdated device was plugged in to the security panel and a series of windows streaming binary code appeared on screen along with one displaying command prompts. "No firewalls, no additional security measures...it's almost like they never expected someone to hack the damn thing" At the sudden silence, she turned to face her companions, a chuckle escaping her lips at their expressions. "What?"

"Fascinating..." Clank tottered closer to observe the data streams on the small LCD screen while Ratchet spluttered at the improbability. "But you've never even _seen_ one of these locks before, how could you even know how to hack one?" She couldn't help but laugh at finally getting one up on the lombax before finally deigning to reply. "You're not the only one with skills, fuzz ball" Her face fell a little as she turned her attention back to the screen.

"It might take a little while though. Right now I've got a looping programme attempting to brute force the lock, but it's only coming up with a few hits. Probably going to have to do this the old fashion way..." She let out a breath before pushing a few idle strands of hair out of her eyes. "I'm going to have to stay to monitor the feed. You should probably get started on looking for alternate locations for our Lieutenant"

"I will also stay" Clank added from his position in front of the keyboard. "I believe I will be of most use here"

"Are you...sure you guys will be okay on your own?" Ratchet asked hesitantly. He knew Ellen was capable of holding her own, but the idea of being separated and unable to come to her aid in time gnawed at him. Still, she was an independent kind of girl. Trying to nanny her would push her further away, and at least Clank could keep her company and maybe warn her of any incoming threats.

"Go on you, we'll be fine" Ellen shooed him away. "Besides, all of Drek's goons will be far too busy dealing with all the explosions that seem to follow you around to notice us. That, and I've always got Clank to protect me" She smiled mischievously down at the sentient machine, whose eyes lit up with apprehension. "I am...unsure of your logic, but I will endeavour to do my best" She rubbed his metal dome affectionately. "That's the spirit!" She turned her eyes towards the lombax once more. "Here, take this. Just in case" He took the proffered Grapple Gun hesitantly before holstering it. "You'd better get going. Just...try not to blow everything up, okay?"

Ratchet grinned while shouldering his wrench. "No promises, it's kinda my thing. You just stay safe. I'll be back soon". Taking off down the embankment once again, Ratchet used his wrench to turn the bolt crank that raised the drawbridge before crossing it in to the forest on the other side of the gorge. It didn't take long for the dull crump of explosions and metallic cries to fade away in to the background noise of droning engines and distant birdsong. "Alright" Ellen cracked her knuckles before rolling her shoulders. "Let's get to it"

Though he found the technology to be somewhat backwards and quaint, Clank quickly became acquainted with Ellen's netbook. Between the two, they managed to refine Ellen's rudimentary programme in to something tailored for this type of lock, speeding up the override process by half as much again. "And...done!" With a stab of the return key, their newly rewritten source code began to self execute and compile the data necessary to crack the lock...eventually. Even sped up, it would take almost half an hour with this beta code to get conclusive results, meaning they would have to keep themselves occupied for a little while longer.

With a grunting sigh, Ellen sat down with her back against the pre-fabricated structure, her eyes taking in the still wondrous surroundings in spite of the logging operation in progress. "Are you alright, Ellen?" She turned her head slightly to see her tiny metal companion tottering up to her. Even sat down, he barely came up to her chest. "I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind, what with the whole 'galaxy in danger' and everything" Clank parked himself next to her in the shade before turning his wide green optics to face her.

"I understand that talking about an issue is the first step towards resolving it. Would you mind sharing what bothers you so?" She considered flat out refusing, but realised she might need an outlet for all her pent up tension. She liked Ratchet a lot, but he didn't seem like the type to deal with anything 'mushy'. Clank on the other hand was cordial, polite and insofar as she had seen, a good listener. Perhaps he might be able to give an impartial take upon what was gnawing at her.

"Until a few days ago, I'd never touched a gun before, let alone tried to take another's life. Ever since I met you guys, it's been one never ending battle after another, and quite frankly it's starting to worry me" Clank looked up at her with sympathy. "You have only done what you had to do. Were it any other circumstances, would you have acted in the same way?" She shook her head. "It's not that. It's just... I've been killing robots and animals for the past day or so and felt no regret. But when I looked in to that blarg's eyes on Metropolis after I shot him point blank..."

She turned her now glistening blue eyes down to her lap. "I felt guilty. I know he was trying to kill me, but in those last few moments I didn't see a 'bad guy'. I saw a living being like you or me, with thoughts and feelings that I cruelly snuffed out. Did he have a dream? A family to mourn him?"

"Ellen..."

"The worst thing though, was that it took that one moment to make me realise what I was becoming. I felt _nothing_. Every time I killed, it became a little easier" Clank hesitantly looked her in the eye. "Was it...because they were not human? Would you have been more hesitant had they more closely resembled your species?" She sighed heavily. "Honestly? Yeah, I think so. It's just...easier to distance myself; to just see a bunch of alien monsters or soulless machines, even if I should know better. I mean, look at you"

She turned to face the robot with the disappointed look on his face. "You're smart, have a strong sense of morality, and couldn't be more alive if you tried" She rubbed her tearing eyes with the heels of her palms. "I've sown more death and destruction in the last 24 hours than most people on my home world have witnessed in their entire lives. I just... I don't want to become a monster"

_'I wonder how my brother managed to cope on the battlefield...'_

A pair of cool metallic hands pried the fingers from her eyes, her blurry vision filled with the gentle glow of wide green optics. "Do not cry Ellen. You are not a monster. Though I am...somewhat offended that you might think of my kind in such a way, I understand your reasons why"

"Clank..."

"You appear to be a nice, well adjusted young woman forced in to a situation beyond her control. It is unsurprising that you would suffer mental turmoil, considering the vast differences between your native culture and that of Solana"

"But..."

"Were you the monster that you so claim, you would not feel guilt over your actions; no matter how unavoidable they might be. Your concern for being desensitised to violence is understandable; however I fear that it might lead to your undoing"

"Wh-what are saying?"

"Forgive me for saying so, but as an organic, you are inherently flawed. Your emotions rule your actions, leading to illogical, sometimes dangerous decisions concerning yourself and others. The only way to negate such effects would be to suppress or temporarily ignore them in such a manner as you have already done. By acting in such a way, you avoid accumulating unnecessary emotional stress that could otherwise affect your ability to function efficiently"

"That's...a little cold"

"Perhaps so, but a necessity if you are to continue surviving. You may have extinguished life, but it was only in the defence of yourself and others. As long as you remember that distinction, I am confident your ideals will not wander astray. You can be assured that Drek's army will hold no such compunctions for us or anyone else who stands in their way"

Ellen smiled down at her small companion. "Didn't take you for a philosopher" Clank merely offered a slight shrug. "As you said to Ratchet, you are not the only one with skills, even if I rarely get chance to exercise them" She leaned down to envelope him in a hug, a gesture reciprocated in kind. "Thanks for being there for me, even if I'm moping about things I can't change"

"You are welcome, Ellen"

Just then, a chime from the netbook bought their attention back to the task at hand. Disengaging from their little therapy session, Clank wondered over to inspect the hacking programme's progress while Ellen leaned over his shoulder on all fours.

"It would appear that the data stream has been a partial success. I will begin re-encoding the necessary sequence to successfully hack the security door" So saying, Clank set to work at a rapid pace, streams of ones and zeroes condensing in to a form that would eventually become an executable programme. As he worked, Clank only dedicated a small potion of his considerable processor to the mundane task, the rest considering his still emotionally strained friend. Concluding that a subject change was in order, the diminutive robot attempted to strike up conversation once more.

"Ellen, would you be willing to share more information about your home? I found our conversation at the restaurant to be quite fascinating" She shrugged. "Sure. What did you want to know?"

"You said that your planet Earth has only one sentient species, yet you are all disunited?" Ellen sat back on her knees while her brow furrowed in thought. "Not exactly. I mean, we have organisations like the United Nations, which is made up of several countries working together, but usually each nation stands on its own. In my case, Scotland, along with England, Wales, and technically parts of Northern Ireland, are all part of the United Kingdom. Though we have differing cultures and languages in some cases, we are all technically one people"

"What of the rest of your planet?"

"Well, like I said, Most countries kind of do their own thing, each unique in their own way. Language, culture, government, religion; I don't think you'd find any two countries on Earth that are remotely the same"

"It certainly sounds like your planet has a great amount of diversity, but would the lack of common ground not lead to conflict?"

"More often than not, yeah. People have been using race, religion, and resources to justify wars for years, and sometimes people discriminate against others for the pettiest of reasons. But it's those differences that make my species what it is. Why would we want to all be the same? Though we all evolved from the same common ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago, we couldn't be more varied if we tried, and I don't just mean in terms of aesthetics like hair and skin colour"

"You are referring to the cultural aspects?" Ellen nodded. "That, and languages too. There are literally hundreds of unique spoken and written languages on Earth, not even counting variants and regional dialects. The UK alone has nearly fifty different variations on English, not including the extinct variants, and that's just one small nation compared to the rest of the world"

"Would the sheer number of languages not stunt relations, and in turn cause more division?"

"You could argue that, but there are more ways to communicate than verbally. Through mediums like art, literature, music, and more modern forms of media such as movies, we can express ourselves and our ideas in ways that transcend the language barrier. Over thousands of years, humanity has come from cave dwelling primitives drawing on rock with fats and dyes, to an exploding, technologically advancing society with the world as our canvas.

We've clawed our way to the top of the food chain; surviving everything life can throw at us. Ferocious wildlife, extreme weather patterns, inhospitable terrain; we've either tamed it or found ways to circumvent it. We are a contradictory species. On one hand, we are capable of great evil and destruction; polluting our environment, mass genocides from countless wars, the stockpiling of nuclear weapons that could extinguish all life several times over. On the other hand though, we can create and nurture; saving several species from extinction, creating life in the most barren of environments, bringing aid to those affected by ecological disaster and the less fortunate.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that for all our flaws, we as a species are proud and noble when we are needed most, and remain dedicated to constantly improving ourselves and our environment for the future of our planet and our species"

Clank filed the information away with increasing interest before replying. "That is...most profound. You have certainly given me much to contemplate" He cocked his head to one side in brief thought before speaking again. "Hmm... From what you have told me thus far, it would appear that your planet's geopolitical situation is almost a microcosm of the Solana galaxy in terms of structure; with the planets representing individual nations and the galactic president acting as the 'uniting' political influence for the collective worlds"

"Hang on, galactic president?"

Clank nodded absently. "Indeed. The galactic president is elected to represent the Solana galaxy for a two year term before being eligible to stand once more for re-election. His, or indeed her decisions influence every world in the galactic community via the locally elected representatives. You mentioned each nation on Earth has its own form of government? How does that work?"

Ellen chuckled. "Barely, if you consider most are squabbling like school kids half the time, but it still works out in the end. Generally speaking, each government follows one of the major doctrines such as democracy, socialism, or monarchies - though most are in decline. Then you have despotism and dictatorships, which are kind of self explanatory and looked down upon by most of the western world"

"Western world?"

"Oh, right. Well, a good chunk of the richest nations live in the western hemisphere, and are almost universally representative democracies, along with several others dotted around the globe. Representative Democracy is-"

"A form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally through elected representatives in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. Representatives are elected by the public, who in turn hold the power to select other representatives, such as the president. It is the officially recognised form of government in the Solana galaxy"

"Oh. Okay then. Guess I don't need to explain that one"

"I am familiar with most of the other forms of political models, but what is this 'socialism'?"

"Well, on paper, it's supposed to be an economic and social system to-"

"Oh my!"

Ellen's head snapped up. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Something has infiltrated the system; the programme code is being deleted and an alert has been issued to all nearby units"

_'Shit! A Trojan horse? Knew the security system was too easy to get in to' _She cursed herself robustly while drawing her Blaster and checking it was still loaded and functional. "How long do we have?"

Clank didn't even look up as his fingers danced across the keyboard. "They are already here. I require more time to stabilise the source code and repair the damage" Whipping round Ellen levelled her pistol only to discover that a cluster of the off yellow circular saw robots were hovering up the embankment towards them followed by a trio of the blue axe wielding counterparts. "Do what you can for the door, I'll keep them busy"

"Understood. Please, stay safe Ellen"

As she squeezed off a burst at the nearest machine, Ellen absently wondered how Ratchet was faring.

_'Probably having an easier time than me'_

{()}

_'I bet Ellen's having an easier time than me. Probably bored out of her skull'_

Ratchet continued to wreck havoc as he ran through Eudora's dense forest. Reaching the top of a shallow incline on a beaten pathway through the undergrowth, he threw a bomb at a group consisting of a lumberjack bot and a pair of blarg troopers before quickly switching back to his wrench without breaking stride. He had been initially surprised at the presence of blarg soldiers in what was supposedly an all robot logging operation, but assumed they had to be extra security put in place after his and Ellen's previous attacks on Drek's assets.

Though he could move faster without having to constantly watch her, Ratchet missed having Ellen fighting by his side. Their constant banter and the knowledge that she had his back as much as he had hers was something that he began to take for granted in the short partnership they'd forged so far. He didn't realise how much he'd miss her until they were separated, making him wonder how he would cope if or when they managed to find a way to get her home. Still, it wasn't like she was going anywhere without him for the time being, and it gave him more motivation to finish what he was doing and get back to her quicker.

Ratchet's bomb caught two of the group in the explosion, but a surviving blarg trooper managed to dive out of the blast radius. Rising to his feet, the alien soldier put down rapid fire with his rifle as fast as he could pull the trigger, but none even made it remotely close to the subsonic furry missile that was Ratchet before the lombax introduced an Omni Wrench to his face.

With the immediate area clear, Ratchet activated a bolt crank that seemed to control a hydraulic platform on a ridge above him before making use of Ellen's Grapple Gun to pull himself up to the same level. Climbing atop the platform, the lombax began to wish that he had Clank with him as he wondered how he was going to cross the chasm that separated him from the platform on the other side of the gorge leading to a storage warehouse of some kind.

He Almost face palmed when he realised that the answer was quite literally in his hands. Aiming at a radio tower attached to the cliff face on the opposite side, Ratchet pulled the trigger on the Grapple gun once again, the cable wrapping itself around the tall mast. An experimental tug and a flying leap later saw Ratchet swinging Tarzan style across the gap with a yell of excitement.

On the other side, a red robot nearly as tall again as one of the blarg heavies they'd encountered in Metropolis awaited with a massive hammer-axe combo weapon in one hand. Without pause, the swinging lombax retracted the cable on the Grapple Gun at the apex of his swing, the momentum carrying him upwards in an arc that ended up with him landing on top of the mechanical lumberjack's head.

"Sup?"

The robot responded with bringing the hammer edge of its weapon up in an attempt to flatten the lombax, probably not the best move in hindsight. Ratchet back flipped off of the machine's shoulders, landing in time to see it cave in its own head. The robot stood motionless for a few seconds before collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut. With snort of laughter, Ratchet turned away and continued to press on towards the warehouse while wondering yet again how Ellen was doing.

{()}

_'This is so not my day'_

Ellen continued to fire short bursts with her Blaster from behind a pair of robot corpses she had piled up as sandbags while ducking to avoid incoming fire. Things had initially gone well for the defending human, since her opponents had been only equipped with melee weapons, and she managed to pick them off before they could get close. Then the blarg had shown up, and suddenly she found herself caught for a loop; pinned down as she was mid way up the slope to the door while they rained down suppressive fire and tried to advance on her position.

The squad of alien soldiers were slimmer versions of the ones she'd previously encountered, with the same reddish purple skin and a similar height and build to the average human. They wore the same silver and black trim combat suit, black fingerless gloves, and high tech back pack with protruding antennae as their bigger cousins, but wielded conventional rifles rather than the freaking huge rocket launchers she had been dreading.

"Clank! How's that door?!"

The diminutive machine continued to type on the keyboard, ignoring a stray round that ricocheted inches from his head. "Almost there Ellen. Please remain patient a few more minutes"

"We'll be dead in a few minutes!"

She flinched instinctively as a grenade sailed over her cover and landed by her arm, grabbing it and slinging it back while internally thanking God that it didn't explode on contact like her Bomb Glove's munitions did. That had been another tactic they had been trying, and it was only a matter of time until they decided to spam her with grenades. Deciding to widen the distance, Ellen began tossing bombs randomly down range to cover her retreat before sprinting back up the hill to where the courier ship was parked. Gunfire chewed at her heels as she slid in to the relative safety of her new cover, Ellen's eyes observing the look of concentration on Clank's face as he continued to battle the security system.

"I have disabled three gates, there are two remaining"

"Fantastic, keep going!"

Dropping to one knee, Ellen span around her cover with her Blaster raised and firing. The blarg troopers had reached her barricade, and two had already vaulted it; both falling to her weapon even as the rest went to ground to avoid being hit. Both sides continued to exchange fire; the blarg taking two more casualties while Ellen received several cuts and bruises from near misses and slamming herself back against the ship to avoid being hit.

Suddenly, Ellen's Blaster clicked empty, only the adrenaline in her bloodstream allowing her to react in time to the sudden assault upon her position. Diving to avoid a potentially fatal shot, Ellen tucked in to a roll while re-equipping her Bomb Glove; sending an explosive surprise at the pockmarked robot body barricade. The mechanical corpses detonated with a shower of lethal shrapnel, catching most of the remaining blarg in the blast radius with some unintentionally spearing Ellen's left leg.

Clutching her thigh, Ellen grimaced as she struggled to pull out the metal shards that impaled her, tears brimming with each agonising centimetre. After what felt like an age, she finally pulled out the shard with a cry before collapsing on her knees with shock and fatigue. When she could finally breathe regularly again, Ellen turned her attention back to her now numb leg wound only to gasp in surprise at what she saw. Before her very eyes, the flesh was knitting itself back together at a ridiculous rate, until there was nothing but a small blemish where a stab wound ought to be.

"What the hell?! How could..."

Clank had made his way over when he heard the scream of pain. Inspecting the wound, he nodded in satisfaction to himself before addressing his human companion. "It would appear that the Nanotech in your bloodstream is functioning properly. There is no permanent damage to your leg aside from some small scarring, and that too will heal with time"

"Nanotech? You mean...I have nanites swimming in my blood stream?! How could I-"

_"I found you in the impact crater, bought you back here and treated your wounds"_

"Ratchet... He must have used some of that Nanotech stuff on me while I was knocked out on Veldin" Clank nodded in agreement. "I can only assume so, since the technology isn't prevalent on your planet" Ellen let out a breath he didn't even realise she was holding. "Well, at least I'm not dead from an allergic reaction or something. Bloody fuzz ball should have asked me before injecting me with stuff that's never been tested on humans before"

Before Clank could retort, a series of reverberating thuds drew their attention to the drawbridge below, and the big red lumberjack robot crossing with its weapon in tow. Suddenly, one of the circular saw armed robots came flying out of nowhere and slammed in to the machine's torso, the explosion causing it to stagger and take a step back. A barrage of similar robo-projectiles followed suit, pounding the hulking lumberjack in to scrap metal.

From Ellen and Clank's immediate right came the reason for the somewhat bizarre rescue; Ratchet, of course, wielding a large tubular silver cannon decorated with black and yellow hazard stripes. "Hey guys, guess what I found?" Bounding up to them, the lombax took in their deadpan expressions as well as the surrounding bodies and burnt grass along the slope before raising a brow.

"What'd I miss?"

{()}

After a brief recount by both parties, Ellen learned that Ratchet had found no sign of the robot Lieutenant, and his new toy was called a Suck Cannon; a weapon designed to hoover up objects or enemies of a certain mass and expel them at subsonic speeds as exploding projectiles. Ellen managed to resist making a crude joke involving sucking and blowing, no matter how tempting it was; mainly due to Clank's presence and the fact that he had finally managed to disable the damn security shutter.

With the thick door descending into the floor and Ellen's gear safely back inside Clank's storage space, the group walked through what looked like a loading bay before finding themselves back outside and staring over a dead drop to the floor of the gorge below.

"Seriously? After all that it turned out to be a bloody dead end?!"

Ratchet meanwhile was observing the random hodgepodge of ridges and ledges doting the ravine as it gently curved back on itself in an anticlockwise direction before turning to look back at Ellen.

"Oh no, I know that look. Whatever you're planning, it better not involve jumping off stupidly high cliffs with bottomless pits below"

It might have taken both Ratchet and Clank a little more than they anticipated to convince her otherwise, but ultimately Ellen found herself being carried like a sack of potatoes across the gap to a small ledge a dozen feet below via Helipack while internally cursing up a storm. After leaping across the next, thankfully smaller gap, they came across a bolt crank which they both turned in unison; giving Ellen a chance to try out her Versa Blade's magnetic feature and revealing a series of Versa-Targets. Swinging between them with her Grapple Gun made Ellen feel a little nauseous; especially when she had to let go mid swing in order to target the second set of Versa-Targets.

Landing on the far edge with Ratchet, another bolt crank lowered a series of bobbing platforms hovering with the aid of a trio of prop turbines, requiring a series of heart stopping running jumps and careful timing in order to land on each one. Finally reaching solid ground again with the aid of Helipack and Grapple Gun respectively, a final bolt crank revealed another set of Versa-Targets, and more importantly the back entrance of the large pre-fabricated structure where they suspected their target to reside.

Quickly hauling themselves up, Ellen groaned with frustration at the sight of another Security door. But to the relief of all present, Clank had learned from prior experience and had the door disabled within five minutes of setting up. Inside past yet more soon to be pilfered shipping crates, they could spot their current object of interest working at a computer console nearby.

With Clank leading the team in to the room, the robot Lieutenant suddenly whirled round at the sound of tiny metal footsteps with a snarl on his face. With quick thinking, Clank attempted some martial arts poses in order to intimidate the much larger machine. To his surprise, it seemed to work as the Lieutenant froze briefly before running off out of the now unlocked front entrance, but not before leaving an Infobot in his wake. This miraculous turn of events most definitely had nothing to do with the pair of heavily armed organics stood aggressively behind him, who were now trying to hide said weapons with innocent smiles.

"You sure showed him" Ratchet gestured to the departed robot. "I suppose I did" Clank acknowledged with a swipe of his fist. Ellen had to fight to keep from awing out loud at the tiny robot's display; it was like watching a puppy trying to take on a mountain lion and coming out on top.

The infobot drifted back up off the ground where it had fallen and expanded its head screen to show what looked like a commercial. It started off with a small, beady eyed, almost cat like alien using an oversized spanner to tighten a nut on a pipe in a dank metallic corridor. Suddenly, something snaps and noxious black fumes are sprayed at his face.

"Is your current occupation leaving a rotten taste in your mouth?"

The scene switched to an expansive platform on a space station with an unrivalled view of the stars and an asteroid belt in the background; the unmistakable figure of Drek strolling up to the camera before continuing "Then you need to know about BTS; Blarg Tactical Research Station. Hi, I'm Supreme Executive Chairman Drek, and we here at BTS are seeking motivated individuals to fill positions in these _exciting_ careers" Drek continued to narrate over a series of video clips depicting...dubious job vacancies.

"Grindboot tester, warhead assembly technician..." A bespectacled lab coat wearing little cat like alien slid down a rail while wearing a pair or red high tech boots, only to flip head over heels and land painfully on his groin before falling off. "...mutant animal husbandry, robot repairman..." Another cat scientist dangled a chicken in front of a grotesque creature that looked like a cockroach crossed with a snake, only for said creature to swallow the alien and leave the chicken whole. "...Suck Cannon test dummy and administrative assistant." A pair of the lab coat wearing quasi-felines were stood on a small platform; the one armed with a Suck Cannon hoovering up his companion before toppling backwards from the sudden increase in weight to the depths below.

The camera switched back to a close up of Drek back on the observation platform as he completed his sales pitch. "So call BTS! Build our weapons, while you build your future!" The final shot showed the same cat like alien from the start of the advert as he made a phone gesture with one hand while he spoke in a high pitched tone. "I'm calling BTS today!"

With the video ended, Clank stored the Infobot while Ratchet's eyes lit up with excitement. "Now we're talkin'! Did you see all the cool gadgets they were making? Let's go get some!"

"No, we must continue our search for Captain Qwark" Clank responded stolidly. Ratchet sighed in frustration before a small smile found its way on to his lips. "You know what? You're _absolutely_ right" Clank cocked his head in curiosity "I am?"

"Sure! We need to find Qwark. Although when we find him, wouldn't it be nice to tell him _where_ Drek is?" The somewhat naive sentient machine rubbed his chin as he considered the lombax's transparent coercion. "I...suppose"

"Well, we go to the space station and talk to the scientists. They work for Drek, so they're bound to know where he is" Ellen settled her weight on one leg as she crossed her arms, eyes narrowing at the lombax. "Yes, because your intentions are strictly honourable, and have absolutely nothing to do with stealing anything that isn't nailed down" Clank seemed to agree. "I am unsure about your logic"

"Ah, you guys think too much! Come on, let's go!"

After liberating the stacked crates of any valuables, the trio soon made their way back to their ship. With Ratchet punching in the coordinates to their next destination, Ellen took a last look out at the marred beauty of Eudora one last time, drinking in the view and regretfully wishing she had a camera. They were one step closer to stopping Drek; all they had to do now was pick up any clues at this space station and then find Qwark.

_'Somehow, I don't think it's going to be that easy'_

* * *

**Well, that was a little different. It felt kind of odd to write something a little more intellectual in places after several rapidly paced chapters, but I think it made a nice change.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	8. Chapter 8: Buttons & Biohazards

**Author****'****s note:**

**Hello everyone, back once again with a new chapter. Took a bit to try and make it more interesting and less repetitive, but I think I managed to get a good hold on it. Not much else to say really, other than to thank you all for your patience and for sticking with this story so far.**

**I'd still like to have a cover for this story if anyone's interested in helping. Just PM me and let me know. Anyone? No? Okay I'm going to shut up now.**

**Review replies:**

**AustinGamer117 - No, thank you. Without your help I'd probably still be trying to figure out how to get past that hurdle of a conversation. Much appreciated.**

**anonymous - Aw thanks, you flatterer.**

**UmbraWitchFaye - Thank you, glad I could inspire a little retro gaming and keep the series past alive. It's getting more difficult to keep Ratchet in the dark about Simon, but the big reveal won't be for a while yet. You're right about Qwark and Helga; they'll get along like a fox and a mongoose in a chicken coop. As for Drek, you'll just have to wait and see…**

**destiny - Thank you once again. Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.**

**ReginaDC21 - Yeah he probably does. He's like a kid in a toy store abusing the hell out of everything with a 'try me' button. I take it you didn't like the blarg station level? To be fair, if there were proper lock-strafe controls rather than having to wait for the thrust pack upgrade then it would be so much easier; especially the boss fight. Somehow I can't see her being too pleased with Qwark period, let alone after he reveals his true colours.**

**Hope you're feeling better now, I kind of forgot that it was the independence day weekend on your side of the pond. Must make sleeping hell with fireworks going off at all hours.**

**Hello and thank you to Giana Nora and ryanreed245 for adding this story to your favourites and follows, along with all you regulars. Thank you for your dedication and support.**

**And now the usual. I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Here's chapter 8. Enjoy.**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 8: **

**Buttons & Biohazards**

**Blarg Tactical Research Station, Nebula G34**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**10:23am GST**

"Well. This isn't ominous as hell"

To be honest, the warning signs were all there. There had been no attempts to hail their vessel on approach or even attempt to shoot at them, unusual considering the usual blargian welcoming committee for uninvited guests. The fact that all local radio frequencies were filled with static in addition to the now completely deserted docking bay that the courier ship had landed in had certainly been disconcerting. Adding to that the eerily quiet atmosphere, and the fact that the sealed bulkheads and force fields on the room exits looked more like they were designed to keep something _in_ rather than out cranked things up a notch to goose bump inducing levels. All in all, it ticked all the right boxes for a budget sci-fi horror movie, and Ellen wasn't keen on taking the starring role.

"Ah, you're just being paranoid. Come on, let's go find some gad- I mean, scientists"

Ellen merely rolled her eyes before trudging after the departing lombax. The landing platform in the docking bay was actually the same one upon which Drek stood in the Infobot commercial they had seen on Eudora, and the view from the wall spanning reinforced observation window was even more impressive in person.

The station looked like it had been originally built on and around a cluster of asteroids, possibly for mining resources, before being expanded into a network of orbiting modules linked together by a series of tunnels and umbilicals. Considering the number of half dismantled ships docked around the station's perimeter, Ellen wondered if they were being decommissioned here or possibly being upgraded. Either option wasn't good, as it implied that Drek had a large fleet and ships to spare.

Arriving at a sealed door on the far left of the hanger, the trio came across another Invinco-Lock which needed hacking in order to pass. Fortunately, Clank had learned from prior experience and could now strip the door's defences in under two minutes with Ellen's netbook, although he hoped to find a way to integrate his and Ellen's custom hacking programme in to their Wrist Coms eventually in order to do away with the bulky set up. For now though, the way was clear; but the passage beyond terminated after only a dozen paces at another identical door.

"Hmm, this must be an airlock for maintenance outside the station" Clank turned to face his companions. "I am afraid you will not be able to proceed past this point due to the lack of breathable atmosphere. I will have to continue alone" Ellen smiled down at their mechanical friend. "It's alright. We'll just wait here until you get back" Ratchet nodded. "Yeah, just don't take too long. I hate standing still" Sealing the door behind him, Clank waited at the far side of the room as the pressure equalised before the door finally opened to reveal a cargo elevator to the station outside.

Meanwhile, Ratchet and Ellen entertained themselves by checking the latest stock at the Gadgetron vendor parked at the top of the ramp to the docking bay. After refilling her ammo reserves, Ellen decided to take a look around to pass the time while Ratchet was busy salivating over the newest shiny weapons on sale.

Strolling past the observation window for the third time, she decided to take a look at the doors on the other side of the room. The one to her immediate left looked pretty ominous, what with the layered force field and biohazard stickers plastered on the wall. Easing away, she noticed that the adjacent door actually led to a small automated shuttle, which upon closer inspection had a set of pre-programmed coordinates to a decommissioned blarg warship anchored outside the facility. Given the option between boredom and the chance for a little exploration on her own, Ellen made the obvious choice.

"Ratchet! I'm going to take a look at that blarg ship outside! I'll be back in a bit!"

"Okay, don't be too long!" Ratchet shouted back before his brain caught up with his mouth. "Wait, you're doing what? Ellen, wait for-"

Too late.

The human had already stuck her head back round the corner, and the dull clunking sound followed by a small shuttle drifting across the void between the observation window and a nearby still intact blarg ship signalled that Ellen was already on her way. Ratchet sighed in frustration as he gripped the safety rail that surrounded the landing pad with worry, his eyes never leaving the diminishing shape of the craft dwarfed by the much larger vessel.

_'Damn it. Whatever happens, please be safe'_

{()}

Ellen hadn't taken more than two steps out of the shuttle before she started to regret her decision to come alone. The atmosphere of the mothballed ship's interior was as oppressive as it was cramped, with uprooted panelling and dangling wires where machinery had been ripped out. A pair of blast doors lined with hazard stripes and lit with dull amber lights greeting her almost immediately at the end of the aft docking station, forcing her to choose a path. She swallowed a lump in her throat before drawing her trusty Blaster and making her decision.

_'Well, no going back now'_

She was well aware that there was actually nothing preventing her from hightailing it back out of there right now, but foolish pride and a determination to prove herself to Ratchet stayed her hand. She'd be damned if she didn't come out of this situation with something to show for it. Steeling herself, Ellen hit the release button for the door only to come face to face with an equally surprised blarg dressed in a green spacesuit with a transparent dome helmet, oxygen tanks on his back, and armed with a squat tubular weapon. A panicked burst of fire quickly cut him down, and as soon as her heart had left her throat, Ellen pushed on in to the room beyond.

It looked like the ship was made up of a series of interconnecting corridors that were broken up by those heavy blast doors; the fact they all looked the same making navigation difficult in the cramped quarters. At the next junction Ellen elected to go right again, hoping that she could follow the hull all the way round to the other side of the ship. As the door opened, Ellen instinctively ducked as something green and scaly came flying at her face. Rising in to a defensive crouch, she found her would be assailant to be a slightly bulbous quadrepedal frog-lizard thing about the size of a cat with solid unblinking eyes and a gaping maw full of teeth. Without hesitation she squeezed off a single round, causing the creature to explode in to a mucus like paste that plastered the walls and, annoyingly, her boots as well.

Grimacing at the thought of getting the stains out, Ellen turned around only to see a swarm of the red eyed creatures staring at her unblinkingly before rushing forwards as one. Frantically back pedalling, Ellen sprayed the horde indiscriminately, thinning their numbers to manageable levels before taking the offensive. Since these things seemed fairly fragile, Ellen decided now was as good a time as any to test out her Versa Blade in actual combat as she swiped at each mutant reptile that came close. The knife was pretty effective, especially with the enhanced cutting feature, though she found it difficult to hit the relatively small and fast targets until they actively leapt at her.

In short order, the corridor was clear and Ellen sported several sickly green decorative patches that were starting to smell a bit rancid. Pushing through the blast door at the end, she was met with an open space flanked with gutted generators and a pair of the haz-mat blarg as she started to think of them, due to their attire and equipment. It was here that she got the unpleasant surprise of finding out what exactly those guns did; the closest blarg pointing his weapon at the floor and shooting forth a short wall of flames that somehow rolled across the metal plated floor with out interruption by any contact with other objects. With flames licking at her heels, a startled Ellen yelped in an undignified manner as she jumped over the projectile only to have to hop another a scant second later. It looked like the blarg intended to tag team her, and she intended to even the field.

Firing her machine pistol wildly, she forced one of the blarg's aim wide as he tried to sidestep her attack, his own fiery blast going high and nearly singeing her hair. A concentrated burst dropped the enemy soldier just as Ellen was forced to seek cover behind one of the generators to avoid his friend's retaliation before she could reply in kind. With both blarg dead, Ellen hit the button for the next blast door only to find herself on the gutted remnants of the bridge, along with a trio of those large long necked cockroach hybrids that she'd briefly glimpsed in the Infobot commercial scuttling around the only console left intact and active.

It was here Ellen learned that not only did the roaches have an armoured carapace, but that her Blaster had about as much effect as a BB gun on the now angry mutant hybrids. Deciding to try something a bit more explosive, she switched to her Bomb Glove while trying to maintain some distance from their snapping jaws. Circling the room, Ellen quickly dispatched one with a trio of bombs before being forced to change position once again.

Running in a serpentine fashion, she flung bombs behind her in an effort to slow down her pursuers and was rewarded with a loud screech as the second roach fell. The last mutant backed off, hissing all the while as it tried to use the comparatively long reach of its neck to lash out at the human. Ellen simply waited for the right moment to give it a bomb shaped gobstopper as its jaw gaped open and frantically backed off when it swallowed a spilt second before it simply ceased to be.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ellen gingerly stepped around the still twitching corpses and approached her goal. In contrast to the rest of the ship, the only remaining active console looked virtually brand new, if a little simplistic considering the fact that it only had one giant red button.

_'Well, I've come this far. Might as well see what this thing does'_

Reaching forward with caution, Ellen firmly pushed the button with a dull click. For a second nothing happened, and then all hell broke loose. A massive explosion tore through the ship's hull, making Ellen lose balance and fall to her knees on the cold metallic floor of the bridge. Klaxons sounded, and the previously sealed blast doors began to open automatically as similar detonations reverberated through out the vessel.

"Thank you for selecting our automated self-destruct feature" A calm recorded male voice intoned over the ship's PA system. "Vessel annihilation sequence initiated. Please remove all personal belongings"

Ellen's eyes widened in panic as they skimmed over the timer that had just popped on the console; showing less than 45 seconds remaining.

"Oh...fudge me sideways..."

{()}

"Ellen!"

Ratchet could only watch with increasing panic as the once stoic vessel floating against a backdrop of stars began to rupture and tear itself apart. His unblinking eyes darted over the entire area, straining to catch a glimpse of his human companion's shuttle. Without warning the ship exploded spectacularly; a field of slowly drifting debris taking it's place.

_'Where is she? No, she couldn't have been on there when it... She has to be okay!'_

As if in answer to his thoughts, a dull clunking sound followed by a hiss of pressure proceeded a slightly worse for wear and heavily breathing, but otherwise alive Ellen stumbling in to the docking bay while clutching an Infobot. "The next time I have an urge to press mysterious shiny buttons, remind me to keep my hands to myself" Before she could utter another word, the dishevelled human found herself enveloped by the arms of a thoroughly relieved lombax. "I thought I'd lost you"

It took a full five seconds for a surprised Ellen to tentatively respond to the gesture in kind. "Not that I'm not glad to see you too Ratchet, but you might want to let go. This green crap kind of stains" A somewhat flustered Ratchet took a step back before trying to school his features, only to wrinkle his nose in disgust at the rancid smell and the blotches of mucus like gunk that now decorated his fur. "Eugh, what is this stuff?" Ellen scratched the back of her neck. "That's...part of what I wanted to talk to you about. That and I found this"

She jostled the Infobot that was still clutched in her hand before setting it down and allowing it to begin playing its message. The screen expanded to show a lilac suited female robot news reporter clutching a microphone stood in a city plaza lit by streetlights and decorated with what looked like cherry blossom trees. "This is Darla Gratch reporting live from Blackwater City. We've just learnt that Captain Qwark will be presenting the grand prize at the intergalactic hoverboard championship, which will be held here over the next few days"

While the reporter was talking to the camera, a black and yellow fully armoured soldier - or possibly robot, it was hard to tell - wandered past in the background, before realising he was being filmed and waving to the camera. While he was distracted, a large green amoeba-like monster with solid yellow eyes ate the soldier whole before slowly approaching the unsuspecting reporter.

"In related news, this planet has recently been suffering from an infestation of strange amoeboid creatures. The city's administration has assured this reporter that every step has been taken to eradicate these nuisances. Darla Gratch, channel two news." Just as the amoeboid was about to eat her, the video cut off and the Infobot returned to normal.

"Did you see that?" Ellen nodded with unsettled look upon her face. "Yeah... I hope that reporter's alright. Ratchet waved dismissively. "Aah, she's fine... I think. I was talking about the hoverboard races" Ellen idly stretched before replying. "It does seem like the best lead so far, especially if that news report is recent" Ratchet grinned. "Exactly. All we gotta do is wait for Clank to get back, scope the place out and be on our way. But before that..." He grimly peeled a chunk of the green gunge off of his fur before flicking it at the nearest wall where it stuck like glue. "What _did_ happen on that ship before you blew it up, and why are you covered in this stuff?"

After a recap of what she had encountered on the vessel, Ratchet leaned back against a wall with folded arms and a contemplative look on his face. "Seems more like they were trying to quarantine the ship rather than dismantle it if they were willing to blow it up. Wonder if that's what happened to the others?"

Ellen followed the lombax's gesture to the remaining shells of former warships before pursing her lips. "That's what I think too, it certainly explains why the place has been locked down. You think anyone's still alive in the facilities?" Ratchet shook his head. "Doubtful. Probably all dead or evacuated. Hmm... Wonder if they left anything interesting behind?" Ellen sighed with exasperation. "You can't honestly still be thinking about going in there after all I've told you? We should just take what we've got and leave"

"We are leaving? But I have only just returned"

Turning their attention back to the docking bay, both human and lombax spotted the diminutive form of Clank as he tottered towards them while struggling under the cumbersome partially transparent gadget he held in his arms. "Hey, you're back" Clank nodded cordially. "Indeed, and I found _this_" Plucking the contraption from his arms, Ratchet examined it from all angles as he spoke. "Hey, cool! It's a...a... What is it?"

"A hydrodisplacer"

"Great, I always wanted one of those... I guess..." Ellen rolled her eyes before deigning a response. "Wonderful, we've got your gizmo. Now can we get off the creepy infested space station?" Clank shook his head. "I do not understand. Were we not meant to search for clues as to Drek's location?" Ratchet cocked a finger before pointing it at the small robot. "Exactly! Plus any scientists left here might be in danger from those mutant animals you fought, _right Ellen?_" He turned his gaze to the human girl at his side who was glaring daggers at him, gambling that his actions would goad her in to the desired response.

Ellen hated being put on the spot like this. She knew Clank wanted to get to Qwark as quickly as possible, but doing so might doom any survivors left in the facility. She could just tell him about the content of the Infobot and leave, but after all she had said during her conversation with Clank on Eudora, it would make her a massive hypocrite to potentially abandon people just to keep her own hide safe.

Sometimes, morality really sucked.

"_Of course_" She managed to grind out before whispering in the lombax's ear once Clank's attention was distracted elsewhere. "That was low, fuzz ball. You do realise I'll get you back for that later, right?" He merely shrugged with a knowing smirk on his face. "You'd have to catch me first" Watching him saunter off, Ellen's fists balled briefly before relaxing as she followed in his wake with thoughts of petty minded vengeance churning in her brain.

The only door they hadn't tried yet was the most heavily secured; the one with the active force field and bio-hazard markings Ellen had bypassed earlier. Studying the device, Clank cupped his chin with a pair of metal fingers in thought. "Hmm... This door appears to be fortified with an electrified quantum entanglement energy field that is almost certainly lethal to organic life forms. We will need to locate and disable the gener-" The sound of metal striking metal reverberated through the still air, followed by the force field flickering and shutting down.

"Done"

All eyes turned to Ratchet as he held his wrench over the now smoking remains of the glowing yellow ball which had floated in a containment field next to the door, and apparently generated the power for the force field. With a shrug, Ellen pushed the button to open the sealed entrance only to pause at the uninviting passage beyond. The dull lighting flickered randomly down the seemingly endless corridor, strange sounds emanating from the depths.

"You go first"

Ratchet snorted before taking point with Clank on his back, Ellen bringing up the rear with her Blaster drawn and sweeping for targets. They hadn't cleared the door by more than a few feet when it suddenly slammed shut and noxious green fumes started pouring out of grates in the rounded walls.

Holding their collective breaths, ratchet and Ellen sprinted through the next doorway only to suddenly find dozens of the mutant amphibians swarming out of the ventilation ducts around them. With his Pyrocitor equipped, Ratchet quite literally blazed a trail with Ellen watching his back, picking off any strays he had missed. At the end of the corridor, they came across a security checkpoint of sorts with a pair of defending blarg haz-mat troopers already carpeting their approach with fire. A short burst of Ellen's machine pistol and a single bomb from Ratchet quickly eliminated the threat, and left them to deal with a bigger force field blocking their advance.

Smashing the two generators that powered the energy barrier, lombax and human continued deeper in to the facility; fighting off a seemingly never ending stream of green death crawling from every vent and gap in the narrow corridor's walls. The current tunnel terminated at a door secured with an Invinco-Lock and an open area to the immediate left. Considering what was still pursuing them, the duo took the obvious choice; slamming the button to lock the door once they were inside.

"See? That wasn't so tough"

"Just wait...till you see the big ones"

Catching their collective breaths, Ellen realised with a start that they were actually inside one of the asteroids that had been hollowed out and reinforced with metal struts al the way from the depths below their platform to the ceiling above. The only other way out of here was an unfinished observation deck a good twenty feet up on their immediate right; which involved scaling the left over scaffolding to their left while dodging past the oscillating poison spewing generators positioned around the unfinished floor sections of the room.

_'Wonderful'_

Finally reaching the top, they managed to swing across the gap via Swingshot and Grapple Gun only to find themselves staring down the barrel of a haz-mat trooper's primary weapon. Salvation came in the unexpected form of a cluster of mutant green amphibians leaping out of some shipping crates to attack the surprised blarg. While the aliens were going at it, Ratchet and Ellen slipped in to the next room and jammed the door shut. Another containment field blocked the exit to the other side, but what caught their interest was the pair of heavily reinforced glass covered pedestals against one wall.

"Is that...?"

"Yeah, that's them alright"

Inside each specimen container was the sleeping form of the same mutant hybrid roach Ellen had previously encountered on the quarantined ship's bridge. Glad there was something between them and the armoured creatures, Ratchet and Ellen disabled the generators powering the force field only for the light to suddenly dim and flicker. With the sound of shattering glass, the two hybrids tore their way out of their prisons and lunged at the morsels before them.

Remembering her previous encounter, Ellen immediately switched to her Bomb Glove before back peddling away from the snapping jaws intent on rending her apart. Ratchet meanwhile had found that though his Pyrocitor didn't do much external damage, it seemed to cook the creature's insides as it keeled over with the burning stench of cooked meat. Turning his attention to the second, he witnessed one of Ellen's bombs blow off a limb and a good chunk of the carapace before it too finally expired.

The corridor beyond was filled once again with a tide of green amphibians which were promptly burned, bombed, or bludgeoned out of the way, leaving a sickly trail of green gunk in their wake. Finding themselves inside yet another hollowed out asteroid, the duo stepped past the body of a recently deceased blarg haz-mat trooper and in to what must have been the stations containment suite for the genetically altered creatures. Now though, the place was overrun; mutants of both kinds roaming free past the rent steel bars of their former pens, and standing in the way of the force field secured exit on the far side of the two tiered room. They hadn't been spotted yet and there was still no sign of any of the original personnel they hoped to find, leaving them to make a choice.

"How do you want to do this?"

A screech from one of the roaches followed by the collective mass of creatures charging them took the decision out of their hands.

Noisy it was.

The faster amphibians were on them in seconds and lasted as long under the heat of Ratchet's flamethrower, keeping the smaller enemies at bay while Ellen concentrated upon the bigger threats with explosives in hand. Once the area was finally clear of it's previous residents, both Lombax and Human salvaged as much ammunition as they could from a security locker mounted on one wall before disabling the electrically charged barrier and moving on in to a large round room that looked like some kind of reactor housing, where more of the roach like creatures stood penned in by a series of electric fences powered by those yellow balls in containment fields. Working anti-clockwise, the duo soon developed a pattern of disabling a fence with a well placed shot before bracketing the armoured mutants with bombs, or occasionally luring them in to the still active fences.

Passing the body of another fallen blarg haz-mat trooper, Ratchet and Ellen found themselves stood outside a well armoured but otherwise unlocked shutter like door. Checking their weapons, they slipped inside only to find a strangely repurposed hollowed out asteroid interior. The air was thick with a low lying green mist that dropped visibility drastically, and strange creeper like vines interwoven with glowing green veined eggs was incredibly unsettling.

"I've got a bad feeling about this"

Ellen stepped closer to Ratchet while he nodded unconsciously in agreement, his eyes constantly checking for any movement around them.

An odd skittering sound, reminiscent of the noise the roaches made came from above their heads. Looking up, the lombax and human barely dove out of the way of the biggest mutant bug either had ever seen. Physically it looked like one of its smaller brethren, only scaled up by ten and sporting a large roughly triangular crest on its head to complement the jutting lower jaw brimming with razor sharp teeth. With speed bellying its size the queen roach was upon them, her snapping jaws forcing the duo to split up and try to flank the hulking beast.

Sticking to the weapon that seemed to do the most damage before, Ratchet used his natural agility to get in close and burn the queen with his Pyrocitor while Ellen tried to keep her busy with sporadic bursts of her machine pistol; bombs being off the menu while the lombax was too close to the potential blast radius.

With a reverberating roar, the queen reared up on her hind legs and slammed down on to the metal decking; sending the pair flying from the shockwave and summoning a swarm of the mutant lizards in the process. Thankfully, the head bug seemed to be content to hang back and recover while the smaller mutant assailed Ratchet and Ellen's position; flamethrower and Blaster scything them down in droves as the horde closed in.

As soon as the last one dropped, the queen roach thundered in once again in an attempt to steamroller them. She seemed to focus on Ratchet as his Pyrocitor gave one last gout of flame before dying out, giving Ellen an opportunity to spam the armoured juggernaut with bombs until it changed targets and allowed the lombax to reply in kind.

Retreating once again, the queen roared her defiance before rearing up to attempt another power slam that was avoided thanks to the forewarning. The queen must have been running out of friends, because only a pair of regular roaches came to her aid and were quickly brought down by a cluster of bombs.

Infuriated at the loss of her children, the mutant monarch came in full bore while lashing out wildly at the two pests in her domain. Repeating their previous tactics, one would distract the giant bug while the other would attack from afar with explosives. After another minute or so of this treatment, the queen gave a mournful keen before slumping over dead; her once impregnable carapace shattered beyond repair.

Stopping only to catch their breath, Ratchet and Ellen forced themselves to keep moving in order to leave the roach mother's final resting place. Exiting via a door on the far side of the birthing chamber, a sudden cry of fear up ahead caused them to pick up the pace at the prospect of finding a survivor in this dead place.

Storming down the corridor, a sharp right turn brought them in to a storage area of sorts where one of those small cat-like alien scientists stood up on a crate leaning back against the wall; a gaggle of the frog patterned lizards swarming at the base.

"Gah! S-stay back you...you fiends!"

With the creatures far too busy trying to get at their prey, they failed to notice the Omni Wrench descending on their pack until it was too late. Wiping the gunk from his beloved weapon, Ratchet stepped up alongside Ellen with Clank at his side as the scientist breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew, I thought I was a goner this time. Some _nano-wit _in genetics must have left the cages open again"

"Are you alright, mister...?" Ellen let the question hang as the cat-like boffin's features softened upon seeing her. "Bergstream, Fred Bergstream. I'm fine miss, just a little shook up. Last time I leave Gary in charge before I go on lunch" Ellen was fairly certain she wasn't meant to hear the last part, but pressed on regardless. "My name's Ellen, my friends and I came to take a look at the job vacancies after we saw Chairman Drek's Infobot commercial. Is he still around by any chance? We'd love to meet him" Almost all lies wrapped in a kernel of truth, but effective nevertheless for gaining the information they needed. Fred snorted. "As if. The _esteemed_ patron of this facility would never deem to visit in person, and as for the jobs...I'd probably look a little further a field if I were you"

"Y'know, you can come down now" Ratchet drolly remarked. The feline featured scientist might have been a little offended by the lombax's attitude as he dropped down from his pedestal. "Honestly! A Gadget Engineer deserves a bit more respect if you ask me" Clank's eyes lit up as he entered the conversation "So, you are an inventor?" Fred frowned at the description. "_Gadget Engineer_" He corrected before carrying on in a monotone that suggested he'd already given the same response several times before "I create revolutionary devices for Executive Chairman Drek. For instance..."

He reached behind his back and somehow pulled out a pair of red metallic boots with distinct black wedges on the heels and near the front. "Viola! My soon to be patented Grindboots" Ratchet raised a brow in curiosity but otherwise said nothing as Fred's shoulders slumped. "Look, I need to get out of here so I can find a new job. How about I sell you these? At cost?"

"_Sell?! _After we just saved your _scrawny butt?_"

Ratchet clearly wasn't amused, but before Ellen could step in, the engineer relented. "Alright, alright. I'll give you the employee discount too" One short transaction later and Ratchet was the proud owner of a pair of shiny new Grindboots while Fred said his goodbyes. "Well, thanks. I'm gonna get outta here while I still can" Pausing at the threshold of the doorframe, he turned to regard them one last time with a winkled nose. "You might want to use the decontamination units in the visitors entrance before you leave. No offence, but you kind of smell" With that, the now unemployed scientist left via a small shuttle docked on the other side of the room while the lombax inspected the high tech footwear.

"Well at least you've finally got a pair of shoes so you don't have to go barefoot all the time, but how do we get back to the ship?" The answer lay beyond the other door, and Ellen knew from the grin on Ratchet's face that she would probably regret the answer.

"WOOOOOO! This is so awesome!"

Ellen had to admit from her position sat upon the excitable lombax's shoulders that sliding down a thin metal track with only a transparent glass tunnel protecting them from the cold vacuum of space was actually pretty fun once she had gotten over her initial surge of terror. The grind rail meandered around the perimeter of the facility, taking a weaving path through a cluster of stationary asteroids and giving a clear view of the nearby planets as well as the rest of the facility. All too soon their impromptu ride came to an end with the sudden termination of the rail, catapulting the trio out of the tunnel exit and back in to the station's docking bay.

Disentangling themselves from the heap they had landed in, Ellen let out a delighted laugh as she sat back on her rear. "You know what? That was actually pretty fun! Shame we can't do it again" Ratchet grinned as he dusted himself off. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Still, maybe there's some rails we could grind in Blackwater City" Clank looked confused as his head turned from one organic to another. "Blackwater City? On Rilgar? Why are we going there?"

Ellen laid a reassuring hand on the minute machine's shoulder before walking him back to the ship. "We managed to find a lead on Qwark's location earlier, I'll explain on the way" A brief chemical shower later, the trio mounted up and with the courier ship clear of the dead space station they were on their way to Rilgar. Hopefully Qwark would be there and willing to help; the consequences didn't bear thinking about.

* * *

**Getting back in to the groove. The boss fight felt a bit shorter than I wanted to make it, but then again to drag it out would be boring.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	9. Chapter 9: Hoverboards & Heroes

**Author****'****s note:**

**You know, it never ceases to amaze me that at least one person is viewing this story every day since I published the first chapter if the traffic stats are anything to go by. Never in a million years did I think it would be so popular, I can't begin to express how damn happy you've all made me.**

**I know this is a chapter that some of you have been waiting to see for a while now, considering we finally get to see some hover boarding at last. To be honest, I did originally think about skipping over it since it proved to be such a major pain to write. But in the end I persevered, and though it doesn't quite seem right to me, I've had to make do in order to (barely) meet my scheduled update.**

**Review replies:**

**BulletWitch1985 - I did kind of have a Resident Evil vibe going when I wrote the chapter, having just started playing number 2 again from scratch, and I think it kind of leaked in to the chapter a bit. I'm trying to make their romance grow steadily; a number of stories I've read jump the characters relationships ahead way too quickly and otherwise spoil a decent tale. They've actually already met Helga (see chapter 6) though they didn't know her name at the time, and Qwark is finally coming up in this chapter. Sparks will most certainly fly.**

**I feel sorry for you guys, cleaning up is never fun; especially when it's someone else's mess. Unfortunately, there are no Lilo & Stitch x Ratchet & Clank crossovers on this site, but I could definitely see the potential of one with the right plot underlining if you wanted to have a crack at it. Two sets of mismatched heroes on a roller coaster ride of adventure across the cosmos sounds like a lot of fun. Let me know if anything comes of it, I'd be happy to try and assist where I could though my knowledge of Lilo &Stitch is some what lacking.**

**destiny - Thank you my consistently reviewing friend, I will endeavour to keep up to your expectations.**

**TheMounainandTheVolcano - Ah, a new reviewer! And yes you're right, there aren't that many stories based on the original games for some reason. I'm trying to keep to a regular schedule of updating every Sunday or Monday, and (fingers crossed) haven't missed an update yet. Personally, I like Ratchet for his personality and can-do attitude regardless of how bad a situation gets. That and I'm a bit of a cat person myself probably contributes.**

**Welcome and salutations to Nicb1 and niksatter82 for favouriting and following along with TheMounainandTheVolcano as well as the usual posse of avid readers. Thank you all.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Whew, barely made it on time, but here****'****s chapter 9. Hope you enjoy.**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 9: **

**Hoverboards & Heroes**

**Blackwater City, Rilgar**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**1:35pm local time**

Landing on Rilgar was one thing, getting to Qwark would be an entirely different matter.

With over 80% of the surface covered by water, living space on the perpetually dark planet was at a premium; thus leading to the construction of several sprawling island cities whenever enough land could be found. Blackwater City was among the largest of these constantly lit beacons of civilisation on an otherwise dreary and dangerous world. The towering spires and squat, more utilitarian buildings along the coast and distant spaceport could not be more different from the grand decor of Metropolis. Preferring a more subdued palette of steel greys and silvers, the thriving city was adorned with enough spotlights and illuminations to be seen directly from orbit.

Unfortunately, with the Hoverboard competition and a combined curfew come quarantine in effect due to the amoeboid infestation, no traffic would be allowed inside city airspace other than the gunships enforcing the no fly zone. So it was with understandable annoyance that Ratchet had to set the courier ship down on a small coral encrusted islet off the coast of the city in an area previously slated for expansion. Several pontoon boats, girders, and half finished dockside buildings left a breadcrumb like trail back in to the city from which they had originated.

It was here that the team had to make a decision, for though they knew Qwark would most likely be at the competition or at least nearby, they had no idea where exactly it was being held. Their only routes in to the city now were either by leapfrogging through the abandoned structures on the coast to the right or directly inside the sewer system and water treatment plant immediately in front.

"I think we're gonna have to split up for this one, there's just too much ground to cover. At least this way, one of us has a chance to get to Qwark before it's too late"

Ellen nodded in thought before considering her choice. On one hand, sewers tend to be distinctly unpleasant and waterlogged. On the other hand, the building on the island directly to her right had a freaking tank parked inside, the turret rotating back and forth in search of targets.

Option 'A' it was then.

After restocking on ammo at a vendor that was inexplicably dumped on their islet landing zone, the team went their separate ways; Ellen heading off towards a small dock leading towards the sewer outlet while Ratchet and Clank bounded over an abandoned pontoon boat and on to the small island containing an unfinished warehouse. Turning back to watch her one last time, Ratchet sucked in a breath while praying internally for the human's safe return. After that little stunt on the blarg space station he'd wanted to keep her close, but ultimately knew that she was capable and that this was the best course of action with the limited time they had.

"You are worried about her well being"

It was a statement, not a question. One that gave the lombax pause as he watched Ellen use her Grapple Gun to swing across the shark infested waters on to a pontoon boat before doing the same again on a series of Versa-Targets, finally disappearing in to the sewer itself. He shuffled uneasily at revealing any weakness to the sentient machine on his back, even if he'd come to accept him a little more as a result of their travels so far. "A little. Maybe. But she'll be _fine! _It's not like she's gonna have to face _that_ down there"

Following Ratchet's gesture to the tracked armoured vehicle that even now was attempting to orient itself to face the intruders, Clank nodded cordially even though it couldn't be seen as he replied. "Indeed, the likeliness of Ellen facing major opposition is significantly lower than our own, given the large hostile presence we appear to be attracting" Ratchet said nothing however, busy as he was dealing with the tank.

Fortunately - or not, depending on your perspective - the vehicle's turret spewed a corrosive green gas rather than high explosive shells in a wide swathe, but was lightly armoured and definitely vulnerable to his Bomb Glove. A few hits and a ruptured fuel line later, the tank was reduced to a smouldering wreck; the pilot knocked out with Ratchet's wrench before the lombax exited the other side of the building and used Clank's Helipack upgrade to hop across another pontoon boat and on to the shore of Blackwater City.

{()}

Upon landing inside the pipe leading to the cities water works, Ellen chanced a last look back at Ratchet; feeling a little guilty at making him take the harder route of the two, but confident that the little fur ball of destruction would prevail nevertheless. At the end of the pipe, there was a small service lift that led to a surprisingly clean and well kept water treatment plant. Immediately in front was a small balcony with a faucet that overlooked a pool of water bordered by a durable metal sluice gate. Looking at the tube like faucet gave Ellen pause before pulling out the Hydrodisplacer Ratchet had passed on to her during the journey to Rilgar, citing the need to free up some space on his Quick Select.

Inserting the nozzle of the device in to the faucet caused the pool to slowly drain with a gurgling sound and the Hydrodisplacer to bulge and swell slightly as it filled with the compressed equivalent of around 1000 gallons of water. Hopping down in to the now ankle deep water, Ellen sloshed across to the other side and climbed up a ledge on to the sluice gate with the aid of her Grapple Gun. Another faucet, this one set in to the floor, allowed Ellen to empty the Hydrodisplacer and transfer the contained water in to the empty pit below; bringing it level with a large outlet pipe on the other side.

Dropping in to the water, Ellen momentarily shuddered at the cool water before swimming across to the man sized pipe and hauling herself up. Following the claustrophobic tunnel, her Versa Blade proved its worth by slicing through a pair of metal grates that blocked her path. At the far side was another faucet overlooking a pool, making her wonder how anyone actually managed to perform any maintenance down here if they had to negotiate an obstacle course just to get by.

Once the pool was drained, Ellen hopped up in to a previously flooded pipe near the bottom and continued to move forward. After carving through the grate at the end, she found herself in a dead end circular room filled with only knee high water. Looking up, realisation dawned as she could see the lip of the pool and hint of a walkway a good twenty feet above her with no noticeable hand holds in sight. She briefly considered refilling the pool and swimming back through and up, before realising she had an easier option. With a brief pop and the whirring of cable, the hook of Ellen's Grapple Gun dug in to the ceiling between the lighting above. Being more used to the sudden arm wrenching acceleration with each subsequent use of the device, Ellen pulled herself up and used her momentum to pendulum swing across to the walkway that surrounded the room.

The only way out was via a partially caved in door way framing an excavated tunnel that contrasted vastly with the surrounding polished steel environment. Realising this was her best bet, Ellen slowly began descending the sharply sloping tunnel only for the dirt beneath her to crumble and send her sliding to the bottom. Landing on solid steel plating, even with the cushioning effect of ankle deep water, still hurt like hell. Staggering to her feet, the once again soaked human rubbed her aching back side while taking a look around at where she'd ended up this time.

This had to be an older part of the sewage system; the grates in the tiny room clogged with slimy seaweed and illuminated only by flickering dim lighting. With no way back, the only route left was a sealed hydraulic door with a glowing orange pressure plate set in front.

_'I really don't want to press this. Something bad's bound to happen, I just know it'_

Sighing with resignation Ellen gingerly stepped on the plate, causing it to depress and turn green with a dull electronic hum. The hydraulic doors slowly began to part, but not before hundreds of gallons of water began to pour in to the room from the overflow pipes above.

"See? I bloody knew it!"

Squeezing through the gap in the still opening doors Ellen pushed herself as hard as she could, wading through the rising water as she desperately sought to stay ahead of the liquid tide of death. She could only hope to find an exit before the inevitable tide drowned her.

{()}

Either the armoured clean up crew couldn't tell a lombax from an amoeboid, or they simply had orders to kill every organic on sight. One way or another, they weren't making Ratchet's life any easier as they charged him with their corrosive weapons blazing. He had been surprised when a five man squad had jumped him as soon as he entered the first storage shed on the shoreline, but quickly recovered his wits in time to avoid being melted by the overzealous soldiers.

Cartwheeling to one side, Ratchet tossed a bomb in to their midst that took out a majority of the tightly packed unit before cracking the survivors skulls with his wrench. Running up the stairs out the back, he realised that the outbreak must have been more serious than any of them had realised. The entire coastal area looked like it had been evacuated and squads of those black and yellow clad troopers patrolled all over.

"I suggest we avoid combat as much as possible. The sooner we reach the Captain, the better"

Ratchet couldn't help but agree as he hit the switch to raise a powered down hydraulic bridge and jogged over to meet the clean up crew guarding the other side. He found himself wishing Ellen was here to lend some ranged support since his own complement of weapons tended towards the close quarter variety; something he'd have to fix sooner than not.

The enemy squad opened up when he was three parts of the way across; attempting to drive him off the bridge with their combined fire. Ratchet merely sent a few explosive shaped surprises their way; using the enclosed environment against their numbers as they were caught between the bombs and the surrounding buildings. Reaching the other side, he punched the button for the elevator leading to the upper areas of the docklands and caught his first glimpse of one of the amoeboids said to be plaguing the city.

Had Ellen been there, she would have best described it as a giant green turd with solid yellow eyes, a gaping mouth and a pair of stubby arms. Basically, Jabba the Hutt's poorer cousin. Upon spotting the lombax, the amoeboid began trailing its way towards him, only to explode in to green gunk when it was hit with a gout of concentrated flame. Just as he was about to move on, Ratchet froze upon hearing a squelching noise; his brows raising in surprise at the now two slightly smaller amoeboids rising up and bearing down on him. It was at this moment that a pair of trooper squads poured out of the surrounding storage sheds before engaging the gooey green creatures head on, with even more crawling out of gaps in the buildings to join the fray.

In the chaos, Ratchet managed to slip away; diving in to the nearest warehouse and weaving through the crates to an abandoned air cab parked at the end facing the sea. Climbing aboard, Ratchet let Clank interface with the controls to trace the taxi's last destination before inputting the coordinates. With a faint rumble, the automated vehicle took off and flew low over the down town areas of the city. Ratchet could quite clearly see pitched battles taking place in the streets between the armoured exterminators and the constantly regenerating swathes of amoeboids in isolated pockets before the cab began to descend to one such street on the eastside of the city.

Hopping down from the hacked cab, Ratchet quickly realised that the soon to be victorious trooper team would be coming for him next once they had polished off the remaining amoeboids, and that tank parked at the end of the street didn't look too friendly either. Looking at the various trash and debris scattered around gave him an idea on how to target the soldiers from a greater distance. Pulling out the Suck Cannon, the lombax went to town on hoovering up as much potential ordinance as possible just as he had finally been spotted.

The closest soldier was sent sprawling by a high velocity trash can hitting him centre mass, his companions being hit by a half road sign and fire hydrant respectively. Another pair of troopers emerged from further down the street before almost being bisected by a flying manhole cover. With no more immediate targets and the Suck Cannon empty, Ratchet turned his attention back to the exterminator tank trundling towards him. Ducking behind a parked air car, the lombax waited until the vehicle had passed by in its search for him before leaping up and slinging bombs at its exposed rear. A muted explosion almost tore the tank in half as it slewed to a halt, flames licking from the turret's hatch while Ratchet decided to make himself scarce. Before he could get too far though, a shady voice drew his attention to an alleyway on his right.

"Psst! Hey you, over here"

With a shared look and a shrug at Clank, Ratchet cautiously stepped closer to the alley until he could see a trench coat wearing green lizard like alien, similar to Skid but not quite, with a red visor concealing his eyes. "RYNO for your robot. Trade ya" Ratchet looked contemplative for a moment before replying. "Well... okay!" Clank was unsurprisingly not amused. "Ratchet! How could you?!" The lombax held his hands up in a placating manner. "I'm kidding!" Turning back to the shady guy, he continued. "Sorry, he's not for sale. And what's a 'RYNO' anyway?"

"Rip Ya a New One"

Bristling, Ratchet narrowed his eyes at the salesman "What did you just say to me?" The alien in question sighed before explaining. "R-Y-N-O. Rip Ya a New One"

"Why, that's the most powerful missile launcher in the galaxy!" Clank exclaimed "I know it's worth a lot of bolts. He must have stolen it from the blarg!" The salesman's eyes narrowed behind his visor while his lips curled up in to a snarl. "_Stolen?!_ Look trash can, did I says anything about it being hot? You'd better watch your mouth or I'll-"

"Wait, don't tell me" Ratchet smirked. "'Rip Ya a New One'"

Considering the eye watering amount of bolts the black market trader wanted, the duo had to decline his offer for the time being while they made there way to the end of the street and to a locked down elevator shaft guarded by a pair of exterminators who apparently weren't fireproof when doused with a Pyrocitor. As the two rode the elevator up to their next stop, Ratchet found himself glad that Ellen had taken the route she had.

_'After all, it can't be more dangerous than up here'_

{()}

There were several things jostling for position in Ellen's mind as she ran; fear, panic, a sense of self preservation. But chief among them was anger; not so much at her self, but rather at the circumstances surrounding her current situation.

_'What is it with me and buttons? First one nearly blows me up, now another's trying to drown me! What did I do to deserve this?!'_

After finally sloshing out of the rising water, Ellen managed to gain a few yards to sprint and hadn't stopped since. Weaving around a quartet of water condensers, she leapt up out of the trench she was briefly occupying and sped up a ramp to her immediate left. Risking a quick glance, Ellen found that the water would need to fill the pool below in order to reach her elevated position; thus buying her some precious time.

Breathing heavily, she continued at a break neck pace over the weaving walkway; conscious of the rapidly rising tide and the few small amoeboids that blocked her path. As she ducked round one of the green creature's snapping maw, she idly noted that the seemed to disintegrate on contact with water, but had no time to dwell on it since her walkway had just run out. Firing her Grapple Gun at the service tunnel on the far side of the room to her right, Ellen instantly retracted the cable as soon as the claw bit in to the steel and reeled herself in at maximum speed.

Despite her arm throbbing with pain from the sudden acceleration, Ellen forced her tired body to continue as she stumbled and clambered her way up the ramp. The water had finally caught up and already enveloped her ankles as she crested the ridge, only for her heart to sink upon realising that not only did the ramp lead downwards, but it too was filled with rapidly rising water.

With no choice, Ellen swam out as far as she could, inhaling as much air as possible before taking the plunge. Trying to swim with hiking boots on is no mean feat, but she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to survive. Her lungs greedily took in air as soon as she hit the surface of the still rising water near a ladder on the opposite end of the tunnel, climbing it as swiftly as possible to a higher level.

Dodging past a few scattered ameoboids, Ellen Leapt across broken sections of walkway with a series of leaping bounds; but even her speed and agility couldn't keep her ahead of the unstoppable flood for long. The water level was a scant few feet from the ceiling by the time she managed to cross the room, forcing her to dive once again in to the cold depths.

The tunnel was long. Far too long.

Darkness began to encroach her vision even as her oxygen starved lungs burned with need, but still she forced herself to keep moving. She wanted to live so badly; to see her family and friends again, including a certain robot and lombax who had been at the forefront of her thoughts for some time now. She didn't know what to make of these errant fragments in her head; but if she ever wanted to act upon them, she desperately needed to reach the end.

Just as it seemed like her luck had finally run out, a final kick propelled her above the surface of her watery prison. Flopping on to the surface of a metal ramp, Ellen resembled a gaping fish as she coughed up water while trying to breathe. To her the stagnant sewer air was probably one of the sweetest things she had ever tasted in a long time, her eyes closing as she thanked God for her miraculous survival.

Once her heart rate had returned to something resembling normal, Ellen dragged herself upright and trudged to the nearby service elevator with waterlogged boots; leaving a trail of sewer water in her wake. She slumped against the wall as the lift slowly took her out of the underground labyrinth, hoping that Ratchet was having better luck than she was.

{()}

After battling his way through an underground section of the cities foundations, Ratchet rode the service elevator up to the surface only to find a series of laser security fences blanketing an area choked with even more amoeboids and exterminators in isolated pockets. Rolling his eyes with a sigh, Ratchet tentatively stepped on the pressure plate in front of the nearest door to deactivate it and begin his run through the maze.

It wasn't quite as bad as it looked, with the lombax's route taking a wide path that avoided the largest concentrations of enemies. Nevertheless, it still resulted in a few particularly tense close range fights against the green replicators and the armoured clean up crews that were swiftly resolved with the application of his flamethrower. Finally reaching the other side of the laser grid, Ratchet found himself confronted with another tank trundling along a raised roadway that overlooked the area and no obvious way to get up to it.

The answer came from an unexpected source. It seemed that problems with the city's water works had generated a build up of pressure, which caused the manhole covers in the local area to be borne aloft by a jet of compressed steam at regular intervals. Taking advantage, Ratchet waited for the pressure to rebuild under the nearest metal plate before riding it to the apex and surprising the hell out of the tank crew below him.

Before they could bring the main gun to bear, a cluster of bombs shredded the vehicles armour as the lombax somersaulted overhead before landing in a crouch. A second tank rumbled out of the entrance from where the first had came, forcing Ratchet on the defensive as it spewed forth its corrosive chemical mix. Diving off the edge of the roadway, he tucked in to a roll before riding another manhole cover up to out flank the cumbersome machine.

A dose of bombs later and Ratchet was on his way, making his way down a winding corridor that led to yet another elevator; this one finally terminating at a tiled plaza decorated with glowing blue lighting and pink cherry blossom trees arranged in a circle. A quartet of screens streaming live footage hovered above on a jet assisted platform, while clusters of photographers and news camera crews congregated on the far side of the plaza. The reason became apparent as one air car limousine or bling ridden SUV after another drew up and deposited what almost looked like Skid clones considering their species and choice of attire.

These it would seem were the celebrity contenders for the hoverboard competition, who continued to revel in the limelight as cameras flashed, reporters fired off questions, and bodyguards steered their errant charges away from the press.

Skirting around the gathered crowd, Ratchet caught a glimpse of movement in a nearby building that bordered the plaza. Moving to investigate, he noted the slumped bodies of a few exterminators in one corner of the room before his gaze swept towards-

"BLEUGH!"

The lombax gave an undignified and very high pitched shriek of terror that would forever be denied for as long as he lived at the sudden looming presence jumping out at him. Scrabbling away on his backside with his heart firmly lodged in his throat, it took a few seconds for Ratchet to register that the apparition was not a swamp monster, but a very familiar and thoroughly drenched human girl.

"Told you I'd get you back"

Her laughter didn't help his ego or his dignity one bit, his cheeks flushed with a combination of anger and embarrassment. "What is _wrong_ with you?! You scared the hell out of me! I could have shot you!" Ellen's shoulders shook involuntarily, leaning against a wall as she laughed herself hoarse. "You screamed like a little girl!"

"I did not!"

"Actually, I believe the pitch of your voice rose several octaves to levels that could be mistaken as feminine" Clank's anecdote sent Ellen in to an uncontrollable giggling fit, while the lombax scowled at the implication. "Thanks a bunch, pal" Turning his attention back the human, Ratchet noticed for the first time that she was completely soaking wet through from head to toe, and her continued laughter seemed to verge more on the hysterical relief end of the spectrum.

"Ellen, what happened to you? Why do you look like a drowned rat?" She quickly sobered up, her features turning solemn. "Because I nearly did drown. Those sewers are a freaking death trap". While Ellen recounted what had happened to her in his absence, both lombax and human tried to wring her wet clothing out as much as possible. Taking off her shirt to wring it out better, Ratchet averted his eyes while holding Ellen close; sharing his body heat and keeping her warm while she worked.

Once they had done what they could, the three made their way back in to the now much quieter plaza and approached the centre where the most human like alien Ellen had yet seen stood waving off one of the hoverboarders who had arrived before turning her attention towards them.

"Welcome to the Hovercon intergalactic hoverboarding competition!"

Despite the rather revealing purple skin tight spandex outfit, the curvaceous competition hostess could easily have passed for human if it weren't for the light green tinged skin, the exceptionally dark turquoise eyes, and the wrong number of fingers on her hands. Ellen wasn't sure if the ridged dome jutting from her skull was purely cosmetic or actually part of the woman's head, but dismissed it as irrelevant as the hostess continued to speak. "Captain Qwark's giving away a brand new Platinum Zoomerator to the winner of this competition!"

"A Platinum Zoomerator!" Clank exclaimed. "Perhaps that will be the proof of your accomplishments that Skid's agent requires" The woman paused for a heartbeat with narrowed eyes, her hands held up in a halting motion. "Wait, do you guys mean Skid McMarx?" Ellen shrugged. "We've met" Ratchet however was trying to play it cool. "Yeah, Skid couldn't make it, so we're here to...you know, fill in for him" The competition hostess placed her hands on her hips, raising a questioning brow while a wry smile tugged at her lips. "Guess we'll see about that. Which one of you is competing? We only have a single slot left for the race"

After exchanging glances between them, Ellen spoke up. "It'll have to be you, Ratchet. You've got the most experience out of all of us" Clank nodded in agreement. "You are the most statistically likely to succeed. Should you win, you may be able to gain the attention of the Captain"

"And that should make it easier to get to Qwark" Ratchet finished. "Alright, where do I sign up?"

While Ratchet went through the process of registering for Skid's position in the event, Ellen and Clank found a park bench from which they could observe the hovering view screens showing the action. From what she could glean from asking around and looking it up online, the hoverboard competition was actually a straight race rather than a contest of tricks and scores as she had expected based upon what she knew of the skating equivalent on Earth. That said, the course was a multi tiered affair with several jumps, gaps, and ramps interspersed with magna strips that would provide a temporary speed boost for the racers who rode over them. The circuit itself was suspended over the west bay area or Blackwater City, and took the form of a rough square shape broken up by sweeping S-curves and an ascending U-turn near the end of the lap.

Looking up, Ellen saw Ratchet stood in front of her, taking his hoverboard from Clank and giving them one last look. "Well, this is it. Wish me luck" She smiled encouragingly. "You'll be alright fuzz ball, just try not to ride that thing in to the drink" He rolled his eyes while smirking good naturedly. "As if. See you guys at the award ceremony" With a final set of goodbyes, the lombax took an officially designated air cab down to the track while the remaining two members of their little team settled in to wait.

"You think he'll be alright?"

Clank nodded. "I am positive. Ratchet might be some what...reckless at times, but I am confident that he will not do anything life threatening. This time" Privately, he considered the human's concern for the lombax. Both organics actions had indistinct hints of courtship behaviour that he had catalogued in his memory banks, and yet they often acted like bickering children from his perspective. Most curious. This would warrant further study. Settling back on the bench, both robot and human sat with mounting tension as the racers lined up under starters orders.

{()}

"...and at the back of the grid is a late entry all the way from planet Veldin; Ratchet the lombax! Gentlemen, start your grav-drives!"

Ratchet looked distinctly out of place among the much taller green lizard like competition but didn't let it faze him in the slightest as he set his board down and mounted it, the anti-gravity repulsor units whirring in to life and causing it to float three inches off of the track.

"Three! Two! One! GO!"

The other hoverboarders took off like a rocket, leaving a stunned Ratchet lagging behind in last place. Quickly refocusing, he ran over a magna strip and used the temporary speed boost to accelerate around the first corner. Catching sight of the nearest competitor, Ratchet followed him up a ramp to the left of the track; catching some air and hitting another magna strip before dropping in to sharp right hand turn with a two tiered route. Taking the high road once again, the lombax slowly began to gain ground as he hit every speed boosting strip in sight while jumping from one short platform to the next. Just as he rounded the next right, the road ran out and he dropped back down to ground level just behind the nearest hoverboarder.

A slight S-curve ended in a sharp left and a boost pad leading to a massive jump which sent Ratchet soaring with a shout of glee over the rest of the thirty feet stretch, his board sending up sparks as it hit the ground on the shallow incline leading up to the next corner. Cutting the inside as he took the ascending U-turn, Ratchet overtook another racer and moved in to third place just as the track levelled out in to a short S-curve ending on the start/finish straight. Ignoring the ramp to the left of the track Ratchet rode the dip in straight away across the line and in to the second lap.

Tucking in behind the hoverboarder immediately in front, the lombax used the slipstream of his larger rival to catapult himself in to second place just as he reached the first corner again. Hitting the magna strips as he went, Ratchet took the same route back over the left hand ramp on the long straight away; sheer speed allowing him to almost clear the whole section in a single jump. He stuck to the same route as before once he rounded the next corner, boosting along the high route and hopping between the platforms leading up to the next right hand turn.

It was here that Ratchet's luck seemed to run short; his last slightly misjudged jump ended up with his boarder clipping the edge of the platform and the lombax plummeting off the edge to slam face down on the track below. The impact knocked the air from his lungs while spots danced in front of his eyes, but Ratchet staggered to his feet nevertheless. Shaking his head to clear out the cobwebs, he soon located his board nearby and got it moving again, but not before being overtaken and sent almost to the back of the pack once again.

Determined, Ratchet chased after the other racers with renewed vigour; opting to stay on the low route through the S-curve leading up to the long stretch with the massive air inducing ramp, which was ignored this time in favour of building velocity close to the ground. As he approached the incline leading to the U-turn, Ratchet noted with surprise that several amoeboids had some how found their way on to the track and were meandering around aimlessly. Weaving between them, the lombax hit another magna strip and boosted up the ascent and the following S-curve; quickly found himself on the lower route leading back across the start/finish line and in to the final lap.

There was no more time; Ratchet knew he would have to go all out in order to win.

To that end, he drafted the racer in front before slipping in to third once again before hunching low around the next corner and taking the low lying route on the long straight away. Hitting the three magna strips that lined the track in sequence, Ratchet hit a small ramp just before the sharp right turn at the end and used the air time to cut out a fair chunk of the corner.

Landing on the upper section of two tiered route, he boosted across the small platforms at the end but skipped he last one in order to bring himself in tighter to the next turn. Landing on the lower level of the track, the lombax quickly switched to the higher route once again as he negotiated the sweeping S-curve that led to the massive air inducing ramp; leaving another racer in the dust a he again ignored the ramp in favour of gaining speed on the magna strips along the track just before the U-turn incline.

Only one place stood before him and victory, and Ratchet could just catch glimpses of the leading hoverboarder as he exited the U-turn and sped through the S-curve at the top. The final stretch lay before him, and the man to beat was booking it a scant ten feet in front. Ducking in to his slipstream, Ratchet grimaced with determination as he crept closer; every second bringing the two racers closer to the finishing line. Inch by agonising inch, the lombax drew nearer until he suddenly made his move.

Pulling alongside, the other racer briefly twitched an eye toward him but otherwise remained focussed upon the goal ahead. The distance wound down rapidly as the two jockeyed for position, each trying to edge ahead of the other. At the last possible second, Ratchet spied a magna strip and slightly altered course to tag it. The resulting speed boost was just what he needed to give him the edge as he crossed the finish line barely inches ahead of his frustrated rival.

Letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, Ratchet smiled and waved to the cameras as he cruised around the circuit for his victory lap. It had been so close, but he'd managed to pull through by a hair. He could only hope Ellen had seen just how awesome he was.

{()}

"You did it!"

No sooner had Ratchet stepped off the air cab when he suddenly found himself embraced by the girl he'd come to think about so much, Clank standing by her side. "Indeed, your last second triumph was most extraordinary" Ratchet gave a lazy smile as he wrapped a free arm around Ellen, his other still carrying his hoverboard. "Yeah, I'm awesome like that" He ignored the slug on the arm and the mirthful 'cocky shite' from Ellen as the three turned to face the floating monitors over the plaza; the gurning mug of Captain Qwark filling the screens.

"Hi folks, Captain Qwark here. It is my distinct pleasure to introduce this year's Hovercon intergalactic champions! Let's give it up for newcomers-"

A monochrome snapshot of Ratchet and Clank that looked like it had been taken from a surveillance camera briefly lit up the screens, with a robotic voice announcing their names. Ellen raised a brow at not being included but shrugged it off. She didn't win the race, and as long as they got to see Qwark she honestly didn't care. "Hey look, that's us!" Ratchet pointed excitedly, though he too quickly realised that Ellen had been excluded when Clank hadn't.

"Today's winners will take home a brand new, professional grade; model T-15 Platinum Zoomerator! Manufactured by Gadgetron, this hoverboard drive delivers more lift, speed and manoeuvrability than any other anti-grav device on the market!"

As Qwark spoke, the purple clad competition hostess glamorously showed off the device to the rolling cameras and flash photography from the surrounding journalists before slipping it into Ratchet's hands. The few members of the public present cheering in unison with that piped through the hovering screens.

"Well folks, that's all the time we have. Tonight, remember to set your Infobots to the Qwark Classic channel for tonight's episode of 'Dogfight over Death Canyon' - starring yours truly. Thank you and have a _Qwarktastic_ day!"

With the fickle media quickly losing interest in the unknown trio in favour of mobbing the celebrity hoverboarders who had just shown up, Ratchet, Ellen and Clank melted in to the crowds and disappeared towards the edge of the plaza.

"Well, Qwark didn't show in person. Now how do we find him?" Before Clank could reply, Ellen cut in with a thoughtful look. "I think I might have an idea. Remember that building where I scared the shit out of you?" She carried on when the lombax did nothing more than scowl. "Well before I got there, there was this trailer surrounded by photographers with a big tattooed novalian guy stood out front guarding the place. Odds are, that's where Qwark would be holed up" Ratchet shared a glance with Clank before shrugging. It was worth a shot.

Skirting around the plaza they made their way through the building in question before emerging in what would probably constitute a small parking lot for air cars. Right now though, the only occupants were a glorified truck with the cargo area replaced with a fair sized living quarters and a scowling mountain of dark green tattooed muscle wearing black boots, jeans with chains hanging off the belt, and a tank top emblazoned with a red eyed skull standing in front with his arms crossed. Seeing the press had gone else where, the three approached Qwark's trailer only to be stopped in their tracks by the bouncer.

"Hey hey hey! Press conference is over! Captain Qwark don't want no more reporters bugging him in his trailer!"

"Oh... you see, my friend and I need to speak to the Captain about a matter of galactic security" Ellen rolled her eyes at the lombax's words. As if a million other people hadn't already tried that line and failed. The bouncer glared at them with his meaty fists set on his hips. "You mean you and your walking camera? You paparazzi make me sick! Now beat it!"

Clank looked up at the novalian with wide optics as he tried to appeal to his better nature. "But sir, I am sure that Captain Qwark will understand once we-" The heavy snorted before shaking his head in dismissal. "No, no, save it. I know how it works. You convince me to let you in. You snap a picture of the captain in his underpants..." Ellen blanched at the image, the lombax and robot exchanging questioning glances while the bouncer continued his tirade. "Then, you sell the picture to the Info-Tabloids for a million bolts!"

"You got it all wrong!" Ratchet exclaimed. "Meanwhile, _I'm_ stuck here making six bolts an hour _and_ I have to listen to a lecture from that cheapskate Qwark! So you don't get in unless I get a kickback. _In advance!_" Ellen begrudged the hefty bribe, but went halves with Ratchet anyway. She only wished she didn't have to look at the smug expression on the hulking novalian's face as he stepped aside.

"You see how it works? You grease the hinges, the door opens"

The interior of the trailer was surprisingly sparse for such a big time celebrity hero like Qwark, the only outstanding feature in the all metal construct being the occupied sun bed on one side upon which a large figure could be seen snoozing with his hands behind his head. "Captain... Qwark?" Clank tried hesitantly. The now fully awake self professed hero jolted upright with surprise at the sudden intrusion. "Whozzat?!"

"It's Ratchet, Clank, and Ellen, Captain! You know, from the-"

"Oh, yes, yes, I know who you are."

"You...do?" Ellen queried with a raised brow. Qwark hopped off the bed and stepped towards them, easily towering over all present with his ridiculously buff physique.

_'Christ... He's a lot bigger in real life...'_

"Yes, and thank the Galaxy you found me" Qwark continued before lowering his voice and leaning in conspiritively. "There's an awful plot being hatched to destroy our planets!" Clank threw his hands up in the air. "Ratchet, he knows!" The lombax rolled his eyes "Great. Does that mean we can go hoverboarding now?" Ellen's eyes narrowed. "If that's the case, then how come you're sat on your arse here presenting a hoverboarding competition rather than doing something about it?" Something about this guy just rubbed her up the wrong way, especially when he completely ignored her and carried on with his blasé attitude. "My friends, we're all in grave danger. And I believe that together, we can put a stop to this madness"

"Together? You mean...you want our help?" Ratchet responded with surprise. Qwark leaned back on one leg while cupping his chin, his expression dead serious. "Look Ratchet, I've been keeping an eye on you, and I've never seen anyone with such raw talent. You are a true hero in the making"

_'And what are the rest of us? Chopped liver' _

Ellen knew Clank didn't have a resentful bolt in his body, and she honestly didn't give a damn about being a 'hero'; but the fact that Qwark was seemingly trying to break up their team by singling out the lombax really started to get on her nerves. The only thing stopping her from laying in to him was the fact that they still needed Qwark, and despite coming off as a bit of a dick, he was unfortunately their best chance of help. "Really?" Ratchet replied with wide star struck eyes. "You mean, I could be famous?" Qwark's teeth sparkled with that immaculate smile of his "Oh, absolutely. Here; take this"

So saying, he brought out an Infobot which started playing a grainy looking infomercial set to an orchestral version of 'Land of Hope and Glory' of all music, starting with a slide of one of Fred's species holding a shovel.

"What makes one man toil in obscurity while another becomes a hero?" The following slides quickly changed to reflect Qwark's narrating voice. "Is it strength..." An image of Qwark holding up a ten ton weight in one hand popped up. "...compassion..." The next slide showed Qwark holding a blue...baby...thing. "...determination..." Qwark stopping a massive boulder rolling down a hill with gritted teeth "...or just pure blind luck?" This slide had Qwark gurning at the camera while holding a winning lottery ticket.

"Wise men through the ages have struggled with that very question, but Captain Qwark knows the secret!" The next two slides showed a contemplative Qwark followed by him holding a finger up in realisation. "That's why he's been able to defeat more desparates..." the slide showed Qwark zapping an amoeboid with his ray gun"...rescue more damsels in distress..." The next showed him clutching the hoverboard competition hostess while soaring away from a hulking blargian snagglebeast. "...and save more civilisations than any other hero in the Galaxy!" This one showed him using his finger to plug a hole in a cracked dam. Because that would obviously work.

"Now is your opportunity to see if you've got the stuff heroes are made of!" The slide changed to Qwark with his arm snaked around the shoulders of a blank humanoid cardboard cut out marked with a giant question mark. "This Infobot contains coordinates to Qwark's secret base" The following slides contained a series of incomprehensible diagrams and blueprints followed by stick figures negotiating traps and obstacles.

"Can you quickly conquer Qwark's killer candidate of qwonfounded complextions? Can you quickly qwon - can, can you Qwarkly quick - eurgh! Just make your way through the defences to the centre of the base! Prove yourself, learn the secret, and earn your place in Galactic History! The final slide showed Qwark's logo as his voice quickened. "Consult your doctor before attempting any strenuous exercise. Not responsible for death or dismemberment. Your results may vary"

The Infobot finished its transmission and moved over to Clank's side, revealing Qwark with a microphone in his hand as he spoke in to it proudly. "Meet me at... uh..." He cleared his throat as he quickly hid the microphone behind his back awkwardly. "Meet me at my headquarters"

Ellen blinked. "Did he just narrate the whole thing live, in third person?" Unfortunately the boys were otherwise occupied with their own thoughts. "Hey, 'Captain Ratchet'; what do you think?" The lombax smirked. Clank gave a small salute. "We won't fail you sir, we promise!"

As they left the trailer and hailed a cab to take them back to their ship, Ellen couldn't help the niggling thoughts in her brain. Other than the planet sized ego, something seemed very wrong with the good Captain. Call it instinct, but despite being all smiles, his eyes told a different story. She couldn't prove anything, but she would definitely watch herself and her friends around the masked man. And if he turned out to be a threat? Well, they were packing enough firepower to rival a third world army. As long as they were together, nothing could stand against their team.

* * *

**So there we are, not quite as good as I'd hoped but I didn't want to leave you all hanging. Next time we visit Umbris and the proverbial poop is about to hit the fan.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	10. Chapter 10: Traps & Treachery

**Author****'****s note:**

**Well here we are, and I'm pretty sure you have a good idea of what's about to happen. Although I've had the content of this chapter stirring in my mind for quite some time now, I'd been more than a little indecisive as to what direction to take inevitable confrontation in. The end result is a little more…subdued than I had previously intended, but I think it's for the best in terms of the narrative.**

**Review replies:**

**destiny - Thank you once again, I'll try my best to live up to your expectations.**

**anonymous - Aw, thanks. I have to admit, seeing people's reviews and their feedback always provides me an incentive to keep on writing; even when I'm half asleep in the early hours of the morning and should know better.**

**BulletWitch1985 - I'm glad you like her, she's definitely the most naturally flowing character I've written for any story, published or not.**

**I would be more than happy for you to run your ideas by me and to help you any way I can to bring your ideas to life. Just drop me a line either via PM or E-mail (address on my profile) and let me know how to get in contact, since I imagine you'd want to keep any correspondence private and waiting a week for the next update and review replies would take far too long for an adequate response.**

**I think Ratchet's behaviour would depend upon when you were setting the story. Ratchet is quite frankly self centred and a little immature during the first game until he realises just what is at stake, meaning that he would probably see Lilo as more of a nuisance unless the situation compelled him otherwise. From the second game onwards though, he's more mature and accepting of other people in general and I could see him acting as an older brother figure under the right conditions.**

**It sounds like you've started some pretty heavy and thorough research, if you get stuck for details or background information on the R & C universe, try checking the R & C wiki. I found it useful for random bits that aren't explained properly in game or are other wise obscure.**

**You're definitely right, though. Nefarious will have his hands full dealing with **_**two **_**highly trained commandos.**

**ReginaDC21 - Yup, intuition is her middle name. Actually it's not, but still. I know exactly which scene you're referring to, you'll just have to read and find out…**

**It's perfectly understandable, I worry about my little brother all the time; though that's usually because I worry that he's going to do something stupid that ends up with him in hospital (long suffering sigh).**

**No one should be picked on because of the way they choose to express their creativity. There is no inherently 'bad' literature or art; only poor critics. Yes, there is always room for improvement in our works as there is in all aspects of our lives, but to stifle an idea at birth; to mock and ensure it never sees the light of day is a travesty none should have to witness. That is why I like sites like this and deviant art, because those that could never hope to become a professional writer or artist can bypass the traditional barriers that stand in the way and display their creations for the world to see via the medium of the internet. I guess what I'm trying to say is that your sister is not alone; there are plenty of other people out there - myself included - who have gone through plenty of crap from their peers, only to carry on writing or drawing regardless. At the end of the day, you are your own worst critic; as long as you continue to pour your heart and soul in to whichever project you are working on, it will all turn out for the best.**

…

**Um, yeah… Sorry for the long rant, just thought it might help somehow.**

**Amberdiamondswords - Yes indeedy, you'll just have to read to find out…**

**UmbraWitchFaye - Qwark also seemed a lot smarter in the original games as well. In the Future saga he comes off as a buffoon, but in the first two games especially he's a nasty piece of work. Ellen's influence to Ratchet's temper will be alluded to in this chapter, but once their relationship deepens he's going to be **_**very**_** protective of her. God help anyone that gets in his way.**

**One way or the other, I'm definitely going to cover the entire original trilogy and maybe Deadlocked/Gladiator too. I'm especially looking forward to writing for Up Your Arsenal since it was one of my favourites. Don't know if I'll cover the Future saga yet, this is a pretty daunting task as it is… I'll see when I get there.**

**TheMounainandTheVolcano - Well she had to get him back somehow, glad you liked it.**

**No new favourites and Follows this week. But that's okay, because I've got all you regulars to keeping me going. Thank you all once again.**

**As is usually the case, I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**This was a bit of a pain to get right towards the end, but I think I did okay. Chapter 10 is a go!**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 10: **

**Traps & Treachery**

**Captain Qwark's Headquarters, Umbris**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**3:25pm local time**

After a brief stop over in Aridia - during which they met up with Skid's agent, received a strange looking helmet in exchange for winning the Hovercon contest, and promises to 'contact your people' over a future contract - Ratchet had set course to planet Umbris on the outskirts of the galaxy.

This secluded rusty brown world was supposedly home to Captain Qwark, and from what Ellen could see during their descent it looked like a good chunk of the barren planet's surface had been converted in to a sprawling fortress. Barb wire entanglements, narrow chokepoints through pools of murky water, and multitudes of turrets with interlocking fields of fire carpeted the area. Even their landing zone up on a small cliff was encroached on one side by a razor wire fence and a dead drop in to the swampy brown sludge below on the other. Why he picked this foreboding place rather than something more cheery like a tropical resort was anyone's guess.

No sooner had they dismounted when a thwipping of rotor blades signalled the arrival of Captain Qwark, piloting one of those single seat open top helicopters that the blarg used with one hand while the other held a megaphone up to his flapping jaw. "Welcome to my challenge course. Now is your chance to prove yourself strong and brave!" He lowered the megaphone briefly as he muttered something to himself before chuckling and bringing it back up to his mouth. "Conquer it and you'll join in my fight against evil!" He finished with a grandiose gesture.

"HAVEN'T WE DONE ENOUGH ALREADY?" Ratchet yelled up against the downwash from the chopper's blades with his hands cupped to his mouth. Qwark held a hand to his ear as he leaned over in his seat nonchalantly "What was that? I can't hear you!" Ellen took a step forward. "HE SAID; YOU - ARE - A - ASS - H-" Qwark merely waved them off. "Sorry, still having trouble! Tell me later!"

"LATER?!" Ratchet recoiled. "WE MIGHT BE DEAD BY THEN!"

"What?"

Ratchet sighed in frustration before gesturing to the route ahead. "Alright guys, let's get going" Ellen continued to stare after the retreating helicopter with narrowed eyes as she watched it fly back to the fortress before moving to catch up with the boys.

"Ellen, why did you imply that Ratchet insulted the Captain?" She turned to look at the curious robot before slowing to a halt at the end of the cliff they had set down on. "First because I was fed up of Qwark pretending not to hear us, and second because it's appropriate considering how he acts. There's just something not right about him, like he's working against us somehow." She rubbed her eyes before turning back to see Ratchet regarding her as well. "It might just be me being paranoid, but I don't want to see my friends getting hurt because I was too afraid to voice my suspicions" Clank nodded in acceptance. "I appreciate your concern Ellen, but Captain Qwark is a paragon for the whole galaxy! He would never do something so underhanded"

"I hope so, for all our sakes"

With that, Ratchet and Ellen leaped off of the cliff edge and used the Versa-Targets hovering over the swamp to swing across to the relative safety of dry land down below on the other side. While Ratchet glided the last dozen feet or so via Helipack, he contemplated Ellen's words. Now that he thought about it, Qwark did seem awfully eager to make them run his little gauntlet with little regard for their well being. Was he just buttering him up with this 'hero' talk? If so, then why? Like Ellen said; there wasn't any hard evidence, but that didn't mean that he shouldn't be on guard himself.

Upon landing, they were greeted by parched ground, jagged rocks, twisted blackened trees, and a multi-barrelled automatic grenade launching turret letting off rounds like nobodies business. A concentrated burst from Ellen's Blaster pierced the outer casing and caused the volatile machine to detonate in a shower of shrapnel. Crossing a small bridge supported by orange metal struts to the next island across, a second grenade launcher was dealt with in a similar fashion before the duo ran in to a pair of what looked like floating sea mines which promptly extended their spikes and attempted to ram them. A flung wrench tripped one mine, with the other entirely unaffected and heading straight at Ellen. Before she could react, Ratchet had tossed a bomb in the homing weapon's path, the resulting twin explosions kicking up a cloud of debris and dirt.

Making sure she was alright, the lombax took point again as they followed the crumbling causeway over the swamp waters to a squat rust brown structure at the end, only for a machinegun turret to pop out of the ground and start hosing the area back and forth with a stream of bullets. Ellen ducked down behind a nearby tree to avoid the murderous fire while Ratchet jumped and flipped over the stream of tracers, having discerned that the automated defence mechanism was using a set pattern that could be exploited. Springing closer in a deadly game of hopscotch, Ratchet released the bomb he'd been holding in a shallow arc that struck the turret off centre and shut it down with a faint electronic whine. No sooner had the lombax and human cleared the line of fire when the machinegun turret whirred in to life again, thankfully pointing back where they came from and not tracking their movements.

Climbing up a narrow dirt lined craggy path that circled the structure, a floater mine springing from behind a tree was quickly cut down by a burst of Ellen's machine pistol just before they reached the top and another orange strutted bridge; this one patrolled by a conga line of a dozen similar floating mines moving in a rough oval circuit over the bridge's length. Thankfully, being clumped together made Ratchet and Ellen's lives just that bit easier as they detonated the column with several thrown bombs before crossing over to the other side.

A pair of the automatic grenade launchers greeted them on a small plateau overlooking the swamp, creating an impassable wall of constant explosions from the launched projectiles. A quick burst of gunfire and a few bombs later and they were on their way up a staircase bordering another squat rust brown tower, only to retreat as more floating mines activated at the top step and homed in for the kill. A panicked burst of Blaster fire clipped one mine and detonated it, while the other fell to another thrown wrench.

"We've really got to get better guns"

Humming in agreement, Ellen led the team on to a longer bridge guarded by even more floating mines orbiting between the middle and the far end of the structure. Timing her shots carefully, Ellen fired two to three round bursts in to the mines predicted path; destroying most of them while Ratchet finished up the remainder with some more bombs before the duo crossed over to the other side and the perimeter walls of the fortress itself. The 'gate' for want of a better term was a seamlessly sealed black section in an otherwise uniform faded red wall that looked thick enough to withstand orbital bombardment; immediately in front of which sat a rough triangle of three silver and green pressure plates.

Despite her misgivings considering her track record with buttons so far, Ellen gingerly stepped on to the nearest plate before leaping back off as it lit up and began to emit a constant beeping sound. Rolling his eyes at her paranoia, Ratchet ran over the other two plates before standing back as they emitted a positive electronic bleep followed by the door splitting down the middle and smoothly gliding open.

Stepping through the opening, the lombax and human were greeted by a quartet of the grenade turrets guarding three more pressure plates scattered over the enclosed courtyard. Using similar tactics to their last encounter, Ellen sniped at the static defences from afar while Ratchet used his powerful leg muscles to launch himself skywards before tossing a bomb at the apex of his ascent to extend the range. Tagging the pressure plates revealed another concealed entrance in the right most wall leading to yet another bridge, complacency almost costing them dearly as the span began to shudder and collapse beneath their feet.

Sprinting across, Ratchet and Ellen barely made it the end before having to go through the same crap with the next bridge set at a sharp right angle to the last. Reaching solid ground on the far side gave no time to rest as another machinegun turret opened up on the duo; the bullets passing through the razor wire fences arranged in an alternating pattern that forced them to zigzag back and forth over the plateau as they ducked and jumped each sweep of tracer fire. Deactivating the turret with a solid whack of his wrench, Ratchet led them in swinging across a series of Versa-Targets along the perimeter of the inner courtyard before landing on a raised metal walkway between the fortress and a rust brown tower with a searchlight mounted on top.

If the outer defences had been bad, the inner courtyard was a death trap. A jumble of thick walls, piles of rocks, and randomly vectoring machinegun turrets covered the area, making finding the pressure plates to open the next door that bit harder.

Splitting up, Ratchet and Ellen swept the area while being cautious around the bullet hoses guarding every corner. Ellen managed to disable a turret by jamming her knife in to a servo on the back before stepping on to a son to be beeping pad and continuing on her way. Ratchet meanwhile had run in to a cluster of floating mines guarding another pressure pad, which were swiftly dispatched with out breaking stride as he moved on to find the elusive third pad. The beeping began to get more rapid and frantic as the two searched up and down, finally locating it sandwiched between a pair of thick off red walls and a machinegun turret.

With all three pressure plates activated, the doorway in to the fortress proper opened up and the team stepped inside; eager to finally get Qwark's little fun house over and done with. Taking the curving staircase two steps at a time, they emerged at the top to find the main entrance guarded by more patrolling hover mines and something that made Ellen wrinkle her nose in disgust while Ratchet raised a brow in question.

"He seriously has a life size gold statue of himself? Of all the egotistical, frivolous things he could have done..."

With both their opinions of Qwark plummeting by the minute, Ratchet cleaned out the wandering explosives with his flamethrower before they activated the pressure pads around the statue's base and slipped inside the revealed doorway. Climbing a ridiculously long ladder, they finally emerged on the battlements by a large pool of clear water containing several creatures that looked like shark sized piranhas with solid yellow eyes, gaping maws of razor sharp teeth, and oddly enough hind legs in addition to flippers.

Using the Hydrodisplacer to drain the pool left the fish to flounder, but didn't render them as helpless as Ellen had expected. Sure they couldn't swim, but they seemed to breathe air and move around just fine. Perhaps they were amphibious? Either way, their scaly hides were no match for combined Blaster and Pyrocitor fire as they blew through the notability less agile creatures with ease as they passed through a formerly submerged tunnel and climbed the steps at the other side. Slinging a few bombs, Ratchet cleared out a few more of the freaky fish in the next drained pool before Ellen refilled it; allowing them to swim across and pull themselves back out on to dry land.

The final pool on the battlements was also the largest, and had the highest concentration of the hungry looking amphibians. Draining the water once again, Ellen dropped down in to the ankle deep water just after Ratchet; the pair flambéing the fish or otherwise turning them in to sushi with Pyrocitor, Bomb Glove, and melee weapons alike.

At the back of the pool lay the way forwards; unfortunately far too high to reach and with no hand holds in sight. Ellen did wonder about using her grapple Gun to winch them up, but wasn't sure it could take their combined weight. In the end they opted to refill the pool and swim through; something that made the human feel uncomfortable at her prior memories of being submerged, but persevered with Ratchet at her side. Emerging on the surface, Ellen groaned at seeing yet another faucet for the Hydrodisplacer and a series of Versa-Targets suspended over an enclosed canal.

"I'm starting to get fed up of this homicidal fun house. How much more is there?"

Thankfully, not much more.

Draining the water allowed the duo to cross to the far side via Grapple Gun and Swingshot respectively, landing in a stone cave covered in piping with a faucet that led to large round room with the disturbing looking fish floundering in knee high water below while a large smooth pillar topped with three tightly packed pressure plates sat directly in the middle. Wading through the pool, the fish were fried in good order before it was filled with the contents of the Hydrodisplacer; allowing easy access to the pillar and their ticket out of there. Once the shutter on the far side of the room had rolled open, Ratchet and Ellen swam across before hauling themselves up in to a carved stone corridor lined with metal archways and struts.

Following the meandering path, they emerged in to a metal lined room leading to an exposed skeletal ribbed tunnel over a grated metal walkway; at the end of which stood the elusive galactic hero.

"Ratchet, Ellen, look! It is Captain Qwark; we have succeeded in his challenge"

_'About bloody time. Now for some answers...'_

Ellen exchanged a knowing look with Ratchet, her hand twitching next to her Quick Select module as he gave a slight nod in agreement. At least they were on the same page. With Clank racing forwards, the pair made their way down the gantry with caution to where Qwark stood on the edge of a circular viewing platform in the middle of the room with his arms crossed.

"Well, well. You three continue to surprise me"

_'Oh, so now you acknowledge me' _Ellen thought as Qwark jumped back on to a hovering platform that had risen up from the cavern below. She took a flanking position on one side of the walkway they had traversed while Ratchet mirrored her actions on the other side. An oblivious Clank made his way to the very centre of the platform and looked up at Qwark with those innocent green optics of his as the celebrity hero continued in an increasingly sickly sweet tone of voice. Step into the ring of heroes and I will _finally_ give you what you _deserve_" Clank turned back to beseech his organic companions. "Ratchet, Ellen, this is no time for you to become cautious! We have reached our goal!"

"I don't know" The lombax drawled out as he scratched his head. "There's something fishy going on around here" Ellen's hands balled in to fists as she narrowed her eyes at the Spandex clad hero. "There's been 'something fishy' going on since the very beginning. Isn't that right, _'Captain'_?" Qwark merely glared down at her through his increasingly forced false smile as he gestured grandiosely. "You two should listen to your little metal friend. Your destiny is mere _steps_ away" One of Ratchet's hands slowly started to snake towards his own Quick Select, his eyes never leaving Qwark's own. "Sorry, but I agree with Ellen. Something just doesn't seem right about this"

At that point Clank rushed towards his organic friends with whirring servos, grabbing them with surprising strength for his diminutive form as he dragged them to stand with him in the centre of the platform. "This is it! Qwark is going to help us stop Chairman Drek!" Qwark looked down on them with a triumphant grin plastered on his face. "Why thank you Clank. You have been..._most_ helpful" With his last words, he produced a small black remote from his belt before pressing its single red button.

Before anyone could react, the centre ring of the platform swung open like a trap door; sending the three falling in to the lava lined cavern down below. The drop wasn't fatal, but was still enough to knock the air out of Ratchet's lungs as he landed flat on his back; Ellen landing heavily on her side nearby with a hiss of pain. Clank however had it the easiest, landing gently with his Helipack rotors as he touched down on Ratchet's stomach.

"Get _offa_ me, you _idiot!_"

Punctuating his words with a shove, Ratchet clambered to his feet with a scowl on his face; Ellen staggering to his side while favouring one side. Descending on his floating platform, Qwark chuckled darkly with an evil grin on his face. "I _love_ it when a plan comes together!" Clank looked up at him with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think he means, _genius?_" the lombax snarked. "He's not gonna help us, he's gonna kill us!"

"You catch on quick" Qwark pointed at them with a gloating tone. "Although there is one problem with your hypothesis; _I'm_ not going to kill you" Ratchet furrowed a brow as he noticed Ellen slowly move to one side, opting to keep Qwark talking. "You're not?"

"No. He is!"

Following the treacherous former hero's gesture to the far side of the cavern, the lombax could the hulking green blargian snagglebeast from the Robo Shack commercial chained to a pair of stone pillars and in danger of breaking free at any moment. Clank looked up at Qwark with a hurtful expression, his world pulled out from underneath him like a rug. "But... Why?"

"_'But... Why?'_" Qwark mocked the betrayed robot with a crude imitation of his last words before snorting. "It's really not that difficult to decipher! I'm the official spokesman for Drek's new planet. I don't want you three getting in the way of my comeba-" His monologue was cut off by an extended burst of automatic gunfire striking his platform and almost sending him over the edge as it weaved to one side. Glaring back down to the culprit, Qwark saw Ellen lowering the still smoking barrel of her now empty Blaster as her cold blue eyes stared up at him murderously.

"Ha! You missed! Sorry sweetheart, but you couldn't hit the broadside of a barn, let alone-"

"I wasn't aiming for you"

Qwark raised a brow mockingly. "Oh?"

With the smell of burnt wiring, one of the platform's thrusters sparked and exploded; sending the platform careening as Qwark steered it frantically on a drunken course out of the cavern. "This isn't over, Qwark!" Ratchet snarled. "No... But it will be soon." the traitor quipped over his shoulder before vacating post haste.

"Get back here you backstabbing bastard!" The seriously pissed human girl bellowed after him, only to halt as the snagglebeast finally broke free of its chains and roared at the remaining trio. It looked like they might be a little delayed.

The cavern was a veritable death trap of limited rock plateaus linked by a series of flimsy bridges and surrounded by lava; the burning stench of sulphur choking the air as Ratchet and Ellen prepared to do battle once again.

Stomping towards them, the snagglebeast let out concentric inexplicably flaming shockwaves with each thunderous step and forced the duo to evade and retreat over the nearest bridge in order to gain some breathing space. Circling around a large pool of lava, they were forced to dive apart as a laser beam seared out of a boxy metallic helmet mounted atop its thick skull across their path; carving a foot deep trench in the solid rock like it was made of paper. Getting in close, the lombax and human jumped over another series of shockwaves before unleashing a barrage of their own. Ellen's bombs did little damage against the giant green reptilian's thick skin, but Ratchet's Pyrocitor was surprisingly effective.

Roaring with pain, the snagglebeast took a step back as it flailed at the flames licking up it's leg before an all encompassing force field sprang in to life around it's body; reflecting any more attacks as it stomped after them once again with thunderous steps as it began to fire balls of burning plasma from it's extended palms.

"That can't be natural! What the hell did Qwark do to the damn thing?!"

Neither of the males had an answer for Ellen's rhetorical question as they ran like hell across a nearby bridge with the not so jolly green giant in hot pursuit. No pun intended. Reaching the other side, they whirled around at the sudden bellow of pain. The snagglebeast had collapsed the bridge with its weight and was now floundering in the lava; it's sparking shield the only thing protecting it from certain death while a pair of stubby wings lifted it back on to the relative safety of the sulphur encrusted rocks on the opposite side from the team.

Glaring at them with its cold solid blue eyes, the snagglebeast sent them packing with more shockwaves and laser strikes as it tried to find a way to get to the now running lombax and human. Finding a discarded magazine poking forth from the charred ruins of an abandoned wooden crate, Ellen frantically reloaded her Blaster while Ratchet weaved through the maelstrom of attacks sent his way.

Almost having his tail singed off from a near miss, the lombax somersaulted over the incoming shockwaves before unleashing his flamethrower at point blank range, shortly joined by a tirade of bullets courtesy of Ellen. After absorbing enough damage, the thoroughly annoyed creature reactivated its shield before taking the offensive once again. Leading the beast on a wide circuit, the pair narrowly avoided the fire balls slung their way as they booked it across another bridge over a pool of lava. The snagglebeast thankfully seemed as stupid as it was strong, since it fell for the same tactic once again; the bridge buckling and snapping in half under the sheer weight as the juggernaut was sent sprawling once again in to the lava.

Furious at being duped, the angry mass of towering green muscle doubled its efforts to annihilate the pesky intruders to its domain. A never ending barrage of attacks assailed them as Ratchet and Ellen were forced to split up and evade the increasingly vicious assault. Pointing her Blaster at the centre mass, Ellen simply held down the trigger as her Blaster stitched a line of bullet holes across the giant's chest; keeping it distracted while Ratchet flanked around a lava pool and came up on the snagglebeast's rear. Inhaling a mass of air, it let out a gale force blast that sent the human flying just as the lombax turned up the heat on their opponent.

With flames engulfing its back, the infuriated creature swiped ineffectually at the lombax before its shield crackled in to life and the pursuit was on once again. Groaning as she staggered to her feet, Ellen could only watch as the hulking green mass boxed Ratchet in to an area where the bridge had already collapsed; forcing him to nimbly leap across the melting collapsed sections floating on the lava's surface before joining her on the other side.

A scant few seconds later the snagglebeast came charging after them with all the subtlety of a runaway freight train as they ran for the only remaining intact bridge. In its blind rage, the creature failed to realise its mistake until it was too late; careening off of the flimsy bridge and sinking in to the boiling lava with an excruciating howl as its shield finally sparked and died.

Pausing to catch their collective breaths, the team forced themselves to walk out of the energy sapping heat of the cavern and past a thick armoured door set low in one wall across a recently revealed bridge only to find an Infobot waiting for them at the threshold. "I wonder what that Infobot is for…" Clank mused. "Maybe it can replace you" Ratchet snarked with a scowl. Ellen glared at the lombax but otherwise bit her tongue as the Infobot played its message.

"We're pinned down! We're pinned down! The ships are hammering our position from the air!"

It looked like a distress call of sorts, the grainy black and white video showing a moustached novalian soldier holding on to his helmet as he hunkered down behind a wall. A sudden whistling followed by an explosion made the camera rock and the soldier duck a little further down before peeking around his cover. "That was a little _too_ close! We need support, NOW!" Taking a quick glance around the novalian looked straight at the camera before gesturing to himself.

"Actually, _I_ need support. My entire battalion went AWOL and left me to fight this war on my own! If the enemy doesn't kill those guys, _I_ sure as heck will!" Suddenly, the bombardment increased as the sound of detonations came closer. "I'm not gonna last much longer! Requesting immediate assistance! Over and out!"

With the brief recording finished, Clank stored the Infobot before turning to his companions. "Those are Drek's ships destroying that planet. We must help that commando!"

"Are you serious?!" Ratchet all but yelled. "That's it, I am _outta_ here!" Storming in to the hanger's interior with anger radiating from every feature and leaving a stunned Clank in his wake. Ellen wasted no time in catching up before halting the errant lombax with a firm hand on his shoulder. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" He turned to face the human girl before shrugging off her grip. "To find Captain Qwark. He's gonna be sorry he ever messed with me!"

He hadn't taken more than two steps before Ellen grabbed him by the lapels and forced him to look at her again. "Would you listen to yourself?! Qwark dicked us _all_ over! Hell, the greedy bastard just screwed over the entire galaxy for the blarg just to top up his bank balance. I'm just as pissed as you are, but we need to focus on the big picture right now" Clank nodded in agreement. "Ellen is correct; this is not about Captain Qwark any more. There are innocent lives being lost even as we speak"

"Yeah? Well I'm done with this stupid hero stuff! I've got my own agenda now!"

Clank tottered forwards to close the gap between them as he tried to reason with the lombax. "Ratchet, this is not like you" With a snarl, Ratchet turned his anger and frustration on the diminutive machine. "What do you know about me?! You've spent this whole time looking for Qwark. You don't know _anything_ about me!"

"I thought I did"

Ellen's quiet voice, lacking any of the fight it had previously possessed, drew the lombax's attention. Cold realisation striking through the red mist of anger that had consumed him. "What happened to the lombax who went out of his way for a stranger in need? Who agreed to help not for fame or riches, but because he chose to help someone who couldn't help themselves" Her words combined with the dull disappointment in her tired eyes hurt more than any physical blow ever could; guilt beginning to gnaw at his mind even as his stubborn pride over rode everything else with thoughts of payback.

"I know that you will do the right thing" Clank added gently.

Ratchet threw up his hands in frustration, grinding his teeth as he stalked towards a sleek and sporty red shuttle emblazoned with Qwark's logo that had been left behind when the former hero had escaped. "Yeah, well right now the only thing I wanna do is find Qwark!" The lombax unsealed the canopy and hopped in to the pilot's seat, only to find a slight problem.

"How do you start this stupid thing?!"

"Have you forgotten?" Clank used his rotor blades to fly up to the cockpit before facing his frustrated companion. "You need a Robotic Ignition System. I will start the ship as long as you agree to help that commando" Feeling a hand on his arm, Ratchet ceased his scrutiny of the controls and the barbed retort on his tongue to look up in to Ellen's concerned eyes as she sat in the passenger seat next to him. "We'll get Qwark, I promise. But we have no idea where he could have gone right now. Instead we should concentrate on helping those we can and stopping Drek before it's too late"

The lombax pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a frustrated sigh with his eyes closed. "You know what? Fine. But if Qwark suddenly shows up, I'm not holding back. And you..." Clank perked up at the attention on his person. "Just...shut up and start the damn ship"

With the start up sequences initiated, the commandeered tour shuttle lifted off of the hanger floor before retracting its landing gear and speeding out and up through the dreary skies to their next destination. The cockpit was silent save for the occasional electronic beep of the instruments; the atmosphere tense and devoid of natural conversation. Despite having defused the argument, Ellen couldn't help but notice Ratchet shooting withering sideways glances at the subdued form of Clank on her lap when he thought she wasn't looking. Although Qwark had failed to kill them, he had unwittingly succeeded in driving a wedge between them all.

Their collective friendship was starting to fall apart.

* * *

**Da-da-dum! What's next for our intrepid trio? Will they be able to pull together in the face of adversity, or are their relationships shattered beyond repair? Find out next time… Although you can probably guess the answer already.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


	11. Chapter 11: Rain & Regrets

**Author****'****s note:**

**And now the aftermath. I know it's crucial for the narrative, but I hate the friction between Ratchet and Clank at this point in the game. Still, it makes writing the next few chapters a little more challenging and interesting from an author's viewpoint. I did consider skipping ot the need to back track to Batalia later on, but decided to follow canon for now since it made more sense based upon what's coming up in the near future. Don't worry, I am thinking ahead…mostly.**

**Review replies:**

**ReginaDC21 - Thanks, I originally intended them to have a full blown argument but scrapped the idea in favour of something more subdued and realistic. I have to admit, I am definitely looking forward to writing for Up Your Arsenal; Nefarious is my favourite villain too.**

**Looking forward to seeing what your sister can come up with, I only hope she hasn't lost any of her work. Thanks for keeping me in the loop with regards to what's happening. I understand where your dad's coming from, mine's the same. I'd be frankly dubious too in his position, I'm sure he's got your best interests at heart though. Hope to hear from you soon.**

**kboyer36 - Thank you very much, I'll try to live up to your expectations.**

**TheMountainandTheVolcano - But they do have exceptionally good cake. (Mmmm…)**

**Amberdiamondswords - Since the movie is based around the main events of the first game, he probably will since it creates dramatic tension between the two main characters. Thanks again.**

**destiny - I try to liven things up a bit with a few wisecracks, glad you enjoyed the chapter.**

**pkmnsurvivor19 - I'm glad you approve. The truth will be revealed sooner than you think…but not just yet.**

**anonymous - Oh yes, Ellen will definitely have more than just a 'few words' for Qwark when they finally come face to face once more. (Grins maliciously)**

**Hello to pkmsurvivor19 and thank you for adding this story to your favourites along with all all you regulars who favourite and follow. You are the metaphorical oil that keeps the cogs in my mind turning.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**This was a bit of a pain to get right towards the end, but I think I did okay. Chapter 10 is a go!**

**- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me.**

'_Thoughts and song lyrics__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 11: **

**Rain & Regrets**

**Fort Krontos, Batalia**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**4:37pm local time**

The weather perfectly matched the mood inside the shuttle as rain lashed at the canopy and distant thunder rumbled across the dull grey skies of Batalia. Like Rilgar, the planet seemed to consist of a number of islands, though larger in number and grouped in small chains around the two main land masses that held a majority of the population. It seemed these island chain were primarily used for planetary defence of the main lands considering the similar militarisation of the surrounding islands to the one which they were heading for, complete with heavily fortified ground based turrets and military bases.

None of the vessels occupants spoke, even as Ratchet brought the craft in for landing on a pad set next to some abandoned cliff side barracks on the eastern tip of the crescent shaped island. It was as near as they could get to the last known coordinates of the commando's transmission, and it was obvious that said soldier hadn't been joking; the blargian assault had completely overwhelmed the island's defences.

Large intra atmospheric bombers cruised the skies along with attack aircraft, making occasional bomb runs against distant targets while squads of robots could be seen patrolling in the immediate area, with more likely in the sub tropical terrain beyond. The dominant feature of the area though was the ruins of the fortress built in to the western tip of the crescent shaped cove, which had several chunks missing from several of its walls including a massive breach on the eastern wall, and most of the heavy turrets on the defensive towers were either burning or otherwise inoperable. All in all, not a good sign.

It seemed they wouldn't have to search far though, since the commando from the transmission was stood at the end of the landing pad waiting for them as the shuttle's engines wound down and the frayed team stepped out in to the miserable weather. Dressed in green fatigues and with the ever present helmet seemingly glued to his head, the moustached man began barking at them before they could take more than two steps.

"At attention, you deserting maggots!"

The trio snapped to attention with a salute, their bodies moving at the command before their minds could catch up as the novalian with the drill sergeant voice pointed his finger while continuing to lay in to them. "The next time you soldiers try to go AWOL, I'll shoot you myself!" Snapping out of whatever spell they seemed to temporarily be under, Ratchet threw his hands up disarmingly as he tried to reason with the disgruntled soldier. "Look, I just want to-"

"_Zip it _worm! You see those bombers?" Three heads turned to observe his gesture as one of the squat grey craft with the stubby fins and cylindrical rotating bomb rack in the middle of the fuselage as it flew overhead. "If you don't get to the turrets and knock those ships out of the sky, this whole planet's gonna be rubble! Meet me at the base entrance" With a quick salute, the commando stalked off to do...whatever he intended to do, leaving Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank to stand in the steady downpour in silence.

"He needs our help!"

The lombax glared down at the small robot stood to his left. "Yeah, well why don't you go and help him... _into another trap!_ Ignoring the pointed look that Ellen shot him, he shooed the sentient machine away. "Well, go on...go fight some evil" Clank looked like kicked puppy as he gazed up with mournful optics. With a deepening scowl at his petty minded behaviour, Ellen stepped around Ratchet's side so she could look him in the eye. "I thought that was your job, _'Captain Ratchet'_" He twitched in irritation at the reminder, not wanting to admit that he'd been caught up in Qwark's little game like that. Clank looked between the two organics, first at Ellen then Ratchet as they stared each other down. Finally the lombax turned his gaze away, snorting in derision as he waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever" His eyes narrowed as they dropped to the reason for his foul mood. "As soon as I find Qwark, I'm selling you for scrap"

With the lombax storming off with a scowl on his face, the diminutive machine turned his sad green optics to face his only remaining companion. "Ellen, I fear that Ratchet is correct. Were it not for my insistence on finding Captain Qwark, then none of this would have occurred" The human bent down on one knee as she laid a hand on his tiny shoulder. "Hey, you did nothing wrong. You weren't to know that Qwark was such an asshole. As for Ratchet... He's more pissed at himself than anything else for not seeing it earlier. Problem is he's taking it out on you because it's easier to blame someone else, and I'm not having it" Clank grasped her hand with a pair of his metallic digits as he looked up at the reassuring smile on her face. "Do you think that...we will be friends again?" Ellen nodded in confidence. "Yeah, I do. Just give him some time to cool off and I'm sure he'll be back to his usual cocky self before you know it. Now..." She pushed herself to her feet before drawing her Blaster and checking the ammunition reserve. "Let's go catch up, shall we?"

They found the lombax savagely laying in to a small group of hovering drones consisting of a torso with a single glowing optic and a pair of spindly arms, finishing off the last one with his Omni Wrench as a missile from a passing attack aircraft destroyed a hover skiff parked at a dry dock nearby. With the machines laying in broken pieces, Ratchet browsed through a nearby Gadgetron vendor with Ellen tentatively stepping alongside while keeping herself between him and Clank. With a grimace of satisfaction, the lombax purchased a semi-active target seeking rocket launcher called a Devastator while Ellen chose something a little more unconventional. For a while now, Ellen had wanted something that did the job of a Bomb Glove but more powerful, and the Glove of Doom seemed to fit the bill; allowing her to stay out of the effective range of an enemy's weapons or even attack from around a corner with the intelligent projectiles thrown from the weapon.

After fully replenishing their previously expended ammo, they began moving forward in an uncomfortable silence punctuated only by the tropical rainfall and the not so distant explosions from the bombers assault. Suddenly, Ratchet veered off to the right up an incline lined with small bunkhouses towards a large grind rail that swept off in to the distance.

"Ratchet, where are you going?"

The lombax completely blanked his mechanical companion as he jumped on the grind rail and set off over the ridiculously intricate course suspended above the sea while weaving in and out of a series of communication towers. With Ratchet disappearing in to the distance, Ellen noted Clank's slumped shoulders with a frown as she gently led him away from the bunkhouses and back down the incline to the vendor. "Come on Clank, let's have a look around while misery guts back there has a good sulk"

Taking the only other path available, Ellen and Clank soon came across a pair of intact military grade reinforced warehouses flanking the bomb cratered route along with a slender framed humanoid robot sporting an automatic rifle and a familiar dull yellow paint scheme to previous models of Drek's mechanised army. The machine opened fire immediately, forcing the human and robot companions to seek shelter behind a jutting pillar on the left most warehouse. With Clank relatively safe, Ellen spun around her cover with her machine pistol levelled and firing at the surprisingly agile enemy robot as he flipped to one side in a manner reminiscent of a certain lombax.

With her rounds hitting nothing but air, the mechanical soldier opened up again with a hail of bullets that made the human dive away in to a roll away from Clank as she switched to her Bomb Glove. As Ellen predicted, the robot somersaulted to one side once again after attacking but this time met an explosive surprise upon landing. With no more threats in the immediate area, she returned to check on Clank only to find him contemplating the Invinco-Lock on the warehouse door.

"Hmm, this door appears to have a far stronger encryption algorithm than those we have encountered previously. Perhaps there is something useful inside that the blarg have yet to take"

Ellen nodded absently. She didn't want to go too far ahead with Ratchet still absent and this was as good a distraction as any for the time being to keep her mind off of his increasingly distant behaviour. Keeping watch for any hostile movement, Ellen briefly glimpsed Clank setting up her netbook before returning her attention to the surrounding area, even as her thoughts continued to linger on the errant lombax.

_'What the hell's got in to you, fuzz ball? If ever there was a time we needed your head screwed on it's now'_

{()}

Grinding the intricate line of rails twisting all over the bay area off of the coast was almost therapeutic to Ratchet, allowing him to temporarily forget about the other two going on about Drek and simply enjoy the ride. Leaping over a broken section, the lombax continued on the rail through a hollowed out pillar of rock and a pair of barriers within ringed markers which were easily vaulted with his natural agility. Flipping to the right, he landed on a parallel rail that snaked off in the opposite direction before almost running in to the only real problem so far; floating mines. Thankfully these seemed happy to stay where they were unlike those previously encountered on Umbris, and with deft timing they too were left in the lombax's wake.

Transferring to another rail, Ratchet began to ascend in a circuit around the large rock pillar before the route took a plunge in to a descending spiral chock full of mines. With the increased speed, Ratchet didn't even have time to blink as he skimmed the rail while missing the floating explosives by the skin of his teeth. The route cut back through a tunnel in another rock pillar before ascending alongside another rail that peeled off deeper in to the chain of craggy peaks that decorated the bay offshore.

Passing a relay tower, the lombax continued to spring over the mines sown in his path before having to zigzag between two separate unfinished rail sections culminating in a sharp dive in to yet another tunnel cut through a pillar of rock followed an equally sudden ascent. Suddenly there was no more track, and Ratchet found himself flailing through the air with a yell only to be saved by a heavy landing on top of an offshore communications relay tower that already seemed to be occupied.

"Halt! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Looking up from his sprawled position, Ratchet found himself staring down the barrel of a Blaster type rifle being held in the twitchy hands of a panicked looking novalian teenager wearing a similar uniform to the commando with the addition of an army green back pack and a grubby looking vest instead of the immaculate long sleeved jacket. The lombax slowly raised his hands while making sure he kept eye contact.

"Easy there, I'm not with the blarg. Me and my...friends found a distress call and came here to help. Just...put the gun down, nice and easy"

There was a pregnant silence between the two broken only by the crashing of waves below, until with a shuddering breath the pointed weapon was lowered to the rookie soldier's side. "You don't look like one of them, not that I care really" The podgy teen rubbed his eyes tiredly. "It's been non stop since the blarg got here. I joined the army to get money to go to college; I never knew I'd end up in a war! Go figure" Having picked himself up and dusted off, Ratchet gave the potential deserter a poignant look. "But isn't that what an army's for; fighting and protecting people?"

The young novalian snorted contemptuously. "Protection my hiney. Take a look around, the blarg blew through us like we were nothing! We couldn't protect ourselves, let alone anyone else! Everyone I know is either dead or gone elsewhere" His eyes darted around in paranoia, as if expecting an attack any second. "I... I've gotta get the heck outta here. I just want to get home to my family" From his back pack, the deserter brought out an Infobot. "Here, I pulled this off a busted robot. Give me some bolts for bus fare off this rock and it's yours"

Even as he brought up his Wrist Com to pay for the Infobot, Ratchet's mind churned in thought. A part of him loathed the novalian for running from the fight, but was he so different? He wanted revenge on Qwark so badly, but one look at the surrounding landscape bought his narrow minded vendetta in to question. Was this the fate of all the planets under blarg occupation; to be steamrollered and pillaged with nary a hint of token resistance? Even if he got Qwark, would there be much of a galaxy to come back to once Drek had finished with it?

Maybe... Maybe Clank had a point...

He shook his head. It was still the robot's fault for nearly getting them all killed, and he was hardly going to let the bucket of bolts live that down if he had anything to say about it; and as for Ellen... Frankly, the human confused him. She spoke of getting back at Qwark, yet she was quick to defend Clank; as if he deserved it! The lombax didn't know how to handle her, especially since he still hadn't made his feelings known and the threat of that damn Simon guy looming over his chances with the girl.

"Thanks a bunch. Good luck saving the galaxy or whatever"

Blinking out of his reverie, Ratchet caught the rear end of the deserter diving of the platform in to the ocean below. Where he was going wasn't clear or relevant to the lombax though as he viewed the Infobot's message with increasing interest before using a teleporter pad to jump back to the shuttle's landing zone.

{()}

"And... there. I have successfully disengaged the lock" Ellen shared a glance with her diminutive robot companion as he packed away her netbook back in to where ever he managed to store so much stuff, while she took up position beside the warehouse door ready to breach.

"Alright, you ready?"

At his nod, Ellen's hand slammed down on the button beside the shutter; her Blaster levelled and ready as she swept it across the interior. Nothing... Or rather, plenty of crates; but nought out of the ordinary. With Clank trailing behind, she began to salvage what she could from the stockpiles of ammunition and bolts piled in several containers while giving a wide berth to the bright red crates which had a habit of exploding if touched according to her companion. A sound of footsteps outside caused the human to freeze momentarily before seeking cover with her weapon pointed at the warehouse entrance, Clank huddled behind her. Ten strenuous seconds later she relaxed as a surprisingly chipper looking lombax stepped inside.

"Hey, I'm back! You gotta take a look at this!"

Dropping an Infobot in front of the human and robot, Ratchet stood alongside Ellen as the message began to play once again.

"Greetings, Supreme Executive Chairman Drek" A cultured sounding blarg scientist spoke to the camera, his dull reddish hued skin, solid yellow eyes and neat fitting uniform of whites and greys trimmed with black setting apart from the blargian soldiers previously encountered. "As you can see, we're about to test our newest automated Pilot's Helmet" With a clipboard clutched in one hand, he turned to grandiosely gesture to a small predominately orange fighter craft sat on a launch ramp against the backdrop of a volcanic planet with a sky like molten metal. "This helmet allows pilots to control our latest hi-tech fighters using only their thoughts" The perspective changed to a close up of a green eyed blarg running through last minute checks in the cockpit before giving the thumbs up and lowering the canopy. As the engine noise increased in pitch, the camera returned to showing the scientist as he adjusted his glasses with a smile. "Please, enjoy the demonstration"

No sooner had he spoke when the ship suddenly shot off...in reverse, crashing to a wall with a rending of flaming metal parts. The scientist visibly cringed before turning to face the camera with a sheepish look on his face "Though, we still have a..." Behind him, a singed pilot helmet hit the platform; bouncing a few times before coming to a halt. "...a few _minor_ adjustments to make..."

The transmission cut off, and the Infobot joined Clank's ever growing collection as Ratchet grinned with excitement. "What did I tell ya? If they ever get the kinks worked out of that thing, I have got to get me one of those!" Clank gave a small nod of acceptance. "If the scientists there are working for Chairman Drek, they may know where he is" Ellen kept quiet, unwilling to ruin the moment since the lombax seemed like he had finally come to his senses. "Is that all you can think about; Drek this and Drek that? I got my own problems!" Or not... Ratchet folded his arms and looked away with a huff while an increasingly agitated Clank pointed a metal digit at him "If you can not see the importance of this situation, you do have problems" The lombax turned to face the robot with a snort. "Yeah? Well if you're so _smart_, how come you fell for Qwark's _stupid_ trick?" Clank visibly deflated, hanging his head in resignation. Ellen meanwhile was fixing the lombax with a dangerous glare.

"Ratchet..."

He almost winced at the intensity of the tone and the accompanying gaze; remembering her words on Umbris caused a small well of guilt to bubble up inside him that he quickly shoved down. "Ah, forget it. We all need to get to this planet, and that's all that matters"

"Not until we've helped that commando"

He sighed at the reminder before turning to stroll out of the warehouse, Clank already positioned on his back. "Yeah, yeah. C'mon, let's get this over with"

Turning left, they were met with another of those surprisingly agile automatic rifle wielding robots that was soon dealt with before crossing a steel hump back bridge spanning a ravine to a walled observation deck overlooking the valley. Halfway over, a missile streaking from a passing attack aircraft struck less than ten feet ahead; almost knocking Ratchet and Ellen off of the edge as they struggled to stay upright. The platform was gone, but a broken water pipe jutting out of the mountain side allowed the duo to carefully cross the precariously balanced structure to the other side. No sooner had they touched down when the pair found themselves under attack from two of the small single opticed drones Ratchet had previously smashed up near their ship.

The small robots attempted to shock the human and lombax with their pincer limbs, but were quickly stabbed and cleaved through respectively. A grenade forced them to scatter, eyes roving for the one who had thrown it. Several tense seconds later drew Ellen's attention to a thicket of grass as it rustled unnaturally, shortly before a blarg trooper popped up with another grenade in hand primed and ready. Dropping him with a short burst of her machine pistol, Ellen rolled to one side to avoid the inevitable explosion before turning her attention back to Ratchet in time to see him dispatch another of the jumping yellow robots with his Bomb Glove.

Taking in the scene below their position, Ellen idly noted the bolt crank in the shallow gully below that likely extended the retracted bridge near them to the small structure on the other side, along with the hovering drones and several good hiding spots for more of those ambushing blarg troopers. Turning to catch her companion's attention, she saw Ratchet jogging down a natural slope to the gully below and took off in pursuit.

They hadn't got half way down when a blarg grenadier popped out of a bush just below and wound up his arm for a throw. A quick burst of Blaster fire put him down just as the lombax hit the bottom of the ramp and introduced his wrench to another grenadier who made the mistake of jumping in to his path. With out stopping, the two blew through the waiting drones and activated the bolt crank on the cliff edge overlooking a waterfall. With the bridge extended, the duo quickly made their way back up to the plateau above in order to cross, only for a rumbling engine to force them to skid to a halt at the visage it preceded.

"Tank! Get back!"

Rolling over the bridge was a tracked green armoured vehicle that while small by human military standards was still plenty menacing enough as its twin barrelled auto cannon turret spat explosive shells at a frightening pace. Ratchet got off a single rocket from his Devastator before being forced to retreat from the withering barrage of fire sent his way by the lumbering machine, scorching the armour but otherwise not doing much damage. While the tank seemed focused upon the lombax, Ellen had managed to get within it's blind spot near the engine block and unleashed a cluster of thrown bombs before dashing away from the tracking turret as it tried to acquire the human attacker. The brief respite was all Ratchet needed as he braced himself and fired his Devastator as fast as he could steady his aim, one rocket knocking out the turret while the following pair penetrated the side armour and detonated internally with a resounding boom.

With the tank knocked out, Ratchet and Ellen skirted around the wreckage and crossed the bridge with haste. Restocking from a cache of ammo in a bunker on the other side, they found themselves taking a naturally occurring water slide down in to a reservoir feeding the waterfall they saw earlier as well as an array of enemy forces set to oppose them.

A pair of the agile yellow robots greeted the duo with automatic fire just as they pulled themselves out of the water, the short distance between the two sides forcing the human and lombax to go on the offensive in order to survive. Ratchet broke out the Pyrocitor, which was surprisingly effective against the mechanical soldier facing him, while Ellen tucked in to a roll before unleashing a pair of bombs that bracketed and destroyed the other machine. Ahead of them another tank trundled back and forth on patrol between a pair of bolt cranks, likely for the disabled bridge to access the fortress nearby to their left, while the tropical foliage around the natural clearing provided cover for any number of hidden forces.

"Trap?" Ellen enquired with an inclination of her head towards their immediate goal.

"Probably, but that's never stopped us before"

With a look of determination etched on his face, Ratchet took off towards the guarding tank with Ellen close on his heels. Halting on a small rise around thirty feet short of their goal, the lombax sighted his rocket launcher on the still moving tank while Ellen kept her eyes open for any additional enemies. Even as Ratchet let loose his first shot, a flash of movement had Ellen sighting on the nearest bush just as a pair of grenade slinging blarg popped up with their deadly payloads ready to fly. She quickly dropped one, but was too late to stop the other sending a grenade their way.

Tackling Ratchet to one side, she idly noted his second rocket streaking wide to impact the cliff face behind the tank before the grenade went off with a concussive blast. It was fortunate that blargian grenades seemed to be focused more on explosive power rather than producing shrapnel, otherwise they'd both be dead due to their close proximity to the blast radius. As it was, Ellen groaned with the aching pain of being sent flying once again as she rolled off of the disgruntled lombax upon which she landed. There was no time for words though, as the tank had finally cottoned on to their presence and opened fire on their position.

Splitting apart, Ratchet distracted the armoured vehicle with more aimed rocket fire lashing at the turret while Ellen decided to break out her new weapon. The Glove of Doom, though visually similar to the Bomb Glove other than the red colouration, was a far more potent weapon. Palming a silver orb that made up the weapon's projectile, Ellen hurled it as close to the tank as possible, watching as it bounced to a halt before giving a small shudder. The metal egg split apart to reveal four tiny two legged robots with comically big heads and raspy cackling emitting from their vocal processors as they charged the tank before detonating spectacularly on contact. They were like hyper violent toddlers in a cute but fugly kind of way. Either way, Ellen approved of the results; one desecrated tank and a surprised looking lombax to boot.

"Kill stealer"

She stuck her tongue out at him before moving on smugly. If he was going to act childishly so could she; see how he likes it.

Approaching the bolt cranks, Ratchet habitually burned down any foliage that could be used as a hiding spot on his side while Ellen simply prodded the thickets with her machine pistol on her route; both having nothing to show for their caution over than a single blarg each which were quickly eliminated. Turning the bolt cranks simultaneously, the two halves of the bridge above extended to form one whole structure and the pair were off again. Ascending the craggy tree lined stepped slope in front brought the lombax and human past a small abandoned bunker and on to the bridge which was crossed without further delay, where the commando from earlier stood looking across the gap towards the fortress beyond. How he got there so fast past all the blarg forces is a mystery that will probably never be solved.

"Blasted thing, it won't budge!"

Turning to acknowledge their presence, the novalian soldier gestured across the glaring gap between them and a bolt crank on the far side. "I've tried everything I know short of nuclear weaponry. Hmmm... No, never mind" Ratchet shrugged before turning to leave. "Well, you tried. See ya"

"Not so fast soldier. You're going into that compound even if I have to throw you!"

Taking a look around, the commando's eyes lit up upon spying a riveted metal ducting extending from the bridge head and around the corner. "Aha! That ventilation shaft leads to the turret platform. Soldier, find a way to use that shaft to infiltrate the compound undetected!" While Clank contemplated how to accomplish such a feat, Ellen was busy trying to not burst out laughing at the unintentional potential innuendo.

"You've shown bravery by making it this far, soldier, and for that I reward you" The moustached soldier pulled an Infobot from behind his back and placed it down in front of the three. "I intercepted this communiqué that you might find useful. Take it. I'm off to find my battalion. Good luck" With a parade ground salute, the commando marched off while Ratchet, Ellen and Clank gathered around to view the message.

"Hello once again fellow blarg, I hope this message finds you well!" The jovial figure of Chairman Drek addressed the camera on the bridge of a large space ship, the half formed husk of a planet surrounding a molten core hung low in the background among the stars. "As many of you know, our home planet is no longer habitable. We've abandoned our factories, our laboratories and our _happy_ lives because of the _encroaching_ pollution, leaving much behind" As Drek spoke, a montage of images depicting a bleak looking poisonous planet mixed in with computers and various advanced looking technology. "Fortunately, the nearby planets will supply us with _all_ we need to create our new home, which is nearing completion! Once our scientists locate the _ideal_ orbit, our new world will be perfect! So reserve your space now, prime locations are filling up fast. Good day!"

The brief infomercial and Clank stored the Infobot before turning towards his lombax companion. "Now do you understand why we must stop him? He will not rest until he has destroyed every planet in the galaxy!" Ratchet raised a brow. "Yeah, well I got bigger fish to fry"

"Bigger than the galaxy, Mr Hero?" Ellen stood with leaning back on one leg with her arms folded, a level unreadable gaze making the lombax shift uncomfortably. "Well, different fish anyway" With a sigh he gestured towards the metal ducting. "Look, didn't that commando guy said we can get into that compound?" Clank nodded. "Yes. By using the ventilation shaft. But we need some special equipment to walk on that"

Ratchet gestured towards the gap. "Couldn't we jump that? Get a running start and I bet one of us could boost the other over" One look over the edge was enough to rekindle Ellen's fear of heights and shoot the idea down. "No bloody way. That's got to be a good thirty feet gap and one _hell_ of a drop if we didn't get it right the first time. I don't think even my Grapple Gun could reach the other side from here" Ratchet rolled his eyes. "Fine, let's get going then. We'll come back later"

More than a little put out, the three commandeered a nearby abandoned hover skiff parked near the ventilation shaft, possibly the commando's, and rode it back to the small dry dock near their landing zone. In the dry seclusion of the cockpit, the miserably wet trio sat with the thermostat set high as the galaxy map materialised on the navigation console.

With two potential destinations, they had to make a decision as to what to do first; raid the test site on Gaspar for the pilot helmet Ratchet had his eyes set on, or check out an abandoned refinery on planet Orxon for salvageable tech and clues to Drek's whereabouts. After a brief argument, consensus was grudgingly achieved and the former tour shuttle lifted off for their next destination. Hopefully the weather would be better this time.

* * *

**Is Ratchet finally coming around despite being a stubborn ass? Find out next time, where we get to experience the joys of branching story missions and back tracking. Hooray!**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**- RevenantReaper337**


End file.
